Insidious Whispers
by kagedreams
Summary: Hirota Seigi seeks SPR's help in investigating a Kyoto home which has been the site of two murders. Uninterested, Naru refuses the case, but... Spoilers up to and including the final novels.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1

Author's Note: Written for NaNo 2007, this story is an original, long investigative case taking place approximately one month after the final novels – Akumu ga Sumu Ie Jou / Ge. (The Akumu novels take place two months after the final Evil Spirits novels which occur approx. half a month after the last story in the anime series/manga vol 9.) **Spoilers from all novels up to and including Akumu are incorporated in this work** and characters from the last novels (namely Hirota Seigi and Nakai Saki) also make appearances.

Most of the characters except those previously mentioned and those central to the series are original. The locations used for this story in general (sic the communities/cities) do exist, but the specific streets and houses do not. This work is a piece of fiction and any semblance to people, places, or incidents – real or otherwise – is purely by chance.

Disclaimer: Ghost Hunt is the brain child of Ono Fuyumi. The GH world and characters are hers. I'm just having some fun with her creation.

* * *

**Prologue**

"Ai-chan! Don't go wandering too far away!" Aiko's father called from where he stood on the side of the road.

Aiko waved to her dad and continued the rest of the way across the street to the abandoned fields on the other side. She and her parents were currently visiting her grandparents in a rural part of Kyoto. They'd come to see the turning of the leaves and have only just arrived. Fortunately for them, the sky was clear and it was a fairly warm, albeit breezy, afternoon.

Aiko looked at the fields in anticipation. They were overgrown with weeds and grasses and there was a great deal of dead undergrowth as well. The property had been abandoned for as long as she could remember and it was utterly unkempt. In comparison, her grandparents' fields were currently completely bare except for the shorn stubs of rice plants left poking out of the ground from the last harvest. Definitely not interesting to a seven-year-old child. Across the street though, that was much more interesting to her young imagination.

As soon as she stepped on the property, a cold breeze gusted by, rustling through the grasses. She could barely make out the sound of rattling coming from a house in the distance as the wood boards that protected it from the high winds of typhoons shook in their tracks. Aiko looked at the dark house in the distance and figured the fields belonged to it. Even though it was far away, to her young imaginative mind it seemed to be listing to the side and was quite run down.

She paused briefly before forcing her way through the weeds. The dry crackle of her footsteps echoed loudly, and she shivered slightly as a shadow fell across the lands. She took another hesitant step into the weeds when another cold gust of wind blew past.

Aiko stared at the field and the house in the distance. From her grandparents' home, the abandoned house and fields looked like the ideal place to go exploring and have some fun. But now that she was actually there, the place seemed dark and forbidding.

She hesitated, unwilling to give up on what seemed like a great place to play, when a warmer breeze drifted by, and the sun seemed to light the fields in a warmer glow again. Cocking her head to one side, she wondered why she thought the place had seemed so spooky. She glanced up at the clear sky above enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face for a moment before turning determinedly towards the grass.

* * *

Chapter 1 

Hirota Seigi stood at the edge of the road as he stared out across the fields and river towards the neighbouring city of Yawata. He didn't turn as he listened to the soft crunch of his co-worker's footsteps in the dry grass approach. The sun shone weakly illuminating their surroundings, but Hirota was sure that, come night-time, the area would be extremely dark as there were few street lights and even fewer houses dotting the roadside to help illuminate the area. During the day, especially with winter fast approaching, the land looked dry and empty.

With nothing to attract people to the area, very few cars went by on the streets. At best, people might use this out of the way road as an alternate route towards crossing the Kizu River that separated part of Yodo, in Kyoto City's Fushimi Ward, from Yawata City. Being low ground near the river, essentially part of the river's flood plain, the ground was flat with little vegetation beyond grasses and occasional fields. There weren't even any wild maple or cherry trees to attract people. The land was virtually desolate.

Nakai sighed as she reached Hirota's side. She and Hirota had been sent to investigate a recent multiple murder in the area after the initial investigation had finished. Part of the case, the aspect they'd been called in about, had been an open and shut case as the perpetrator – Katou Hiroshi, 32 - had called the police and confessed to the crime immediately after having committed the act. However, something Katou said during his statement caught the attention of one of the investigating officers. That officer, a veteran of the services, then contacted Nakai's and Hirota's department eventually leading to their now being in the old capital.

Hirota sighed silently. The murder investigation had been so simple and clear-cut, he didn't really see why he and Nakai had been called out. Investigations couldn't get any simpler than the perpetrator calling immediately after committing the crime, handing the police the murder weapon, recounting exactly what had transpired and having the evidence support the story. The only thing that would've been more damning was if there'd been an eye witness. What made this case difficult, however, was that a child was missing. And given the length of time since the initial crime, the chances of that child being found alive were almost non-existent.

He looked at Nakai and waited for her to speak. When she didn't say anything for several moments, he heaved another silent sigh before finally asking, "So, what do you think?"

Nakai looked up at Hirota and shook her head. "I can't believe we were told to haul our butts out here like this, but..." Her voice trailed off as she considered what she'd heard earlier that day.

Nakai and Hirota both spent the better part of the morning reading through the various investigation files after having spoken to Detective Konishi who'd contacted their department. While most of their reading concentrated on the recent multiple murder case, they were also presented with files of other incidents that bore similarities to the latest case. And all of the files were of crimes committed in the area around Yodo in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward very close to Yawata City. While the area was rural, there was a large race track which attracted many visitors on weekends, so they reasoned that the higher crime rate might be accounted for because of its proximity to the track. However, coming out to the scene of the crime revealed only quiet roads and empty fields.

Nakai sighed as she stared into the distance. "I'm not sure. I'm a bit more inclined towards thinking something's off, but at the same time, it might be nothing," she said as she mentally reviewed what they'd learned that morning. She shook her head, "Remind me why we decided to walk out here rather than drive. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to feel like we're lost. Worse still, my cell's out of area here, so I can't even call us a cab," she said sounding annoyed. "What about you, any thoughts?"

Hirota shook his head, "I'll have you know, _you're_ the one who thought walking would be a great idea." he said grumpily.

Nakai wrinkled her nose at Hirota's comment. Before she could comment, he changed the subject back to the investigation. "But, to be honest, I don't see anything particularly unusual about this case. The guy killed some people and confessed to the crime. What more could you want?"

Nakai looked thoughtful for a moment. "How about motive?" she asked.

Hirota frowned eventually shaking his head silently.

"Okay, what about his daughter? Where'd she disappear to?" Nakai sighed. "I don't know about you, but personally, I'm lost, cold, and want to sit down for a bit. Didn't the reports mention an abandoned house out here somewhere? If it's an old-style house, we can at least take a break and sit there for a bit. Certainly, I don't want to stick around that house right now. I wonder if the guys here would even notice if we went missing..."

When Hirota didn't move, Nakai stamped her feet slightly as she shivered in the cold. "Hirota, I know what you're going to say, but I think we could use some help with this one," Nakai said reluctantly.

He looked at her for a long moment after she said that. "Get help? Why? Neither of us is seeing anything unusual about the case, so why not just call it 'investigated with no supporting evidence' and leave it at that?"

Nakai stared across the fields to where a large apartment complex could be seen in the distance. "Call it women's intuition."

Hirota snorted. "Do you honestly expect me to buy that one? Try again."

Nakai had a sour look on her face at Hirota's reply.

However, before she could reply, Hirota's expression suddenly changed and became very wary. "And just who are you suggesting we ask for help?"

Nakai smiled impishly. "Who do you think?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Seventeen year old Taniyama Mai sat at her desk in a small office in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo. The pencil she held in her hand tapped incessantly on the paper as she stared at the words on the page. She was so focussed on those words that she was completely oblivious to the fact that she'd since made a small hole in the paper from the constant tapping.

Her co-worker – Yasuhara Osamu, 18 – wasn't so oblivious to the constant tapping and glanced at her over the rim of his glasses from where he sat at his own desk. Despite being more than capable of ignoring the sounds, he was starting to wonder if he should say something to Mai. _'If I don't say something soon, she might explode from frustration and end up disturbing the boss,'_ he thought.

"Tani..."

Just when he was about to ask her what she was struggling with, Mai cried out in frustration.

"Aah! I don't know! What'm I supposed to write for this??" Mai threw her hands up in despair. "Yasuhara-san can you help me with this? Please?! ...Ah! No. Actually, I take that back. Um, never mind," she said stiltedly. Mai laughed weakly as she waved her hands in front of her in denial.

Yasuhara couldn't help smiling wryly at having been slightly off in his timing. Apparently, he'd been concentrating on his work than more he'd originally thought. He quickly gathered together the papers he'd been working on and brought them with him as he decided to see what she'd been struggling with. Mai's sudden back-pedal and weak laugh had tweaked his curiosity. And as he expected, a moment later the door to the boss's office opened audibly, and Shibuya Kazuya, a.k.a. 'Naru', stalked out looking annoyed.

"Mai! Be quiet! This is an office! Five-year-olds are quieter than you!" he snapped. Apparently, her outburst reached him in his office disturbing him from his work.

Mai shrank back slightly at his sharp words. "S-sorry," she muttered. She couldn't argue; she hadn't meant to disturb people by yelling like that.

"Ah, Shochou, I finished the initial data analyses. Would you like to take a look at them first, or should I hand the information to Lin-san?" Yasuhara asked in an attempt to deflect Naru's attention from Mai.

"...I'll take a look at them first," Naru said with a slight sigh after a brief pause. "Mai, tea."

"Coming," she replied slightly relieved. "Yasuhara-san, would you like some tea, too?"

"Please," he said with his winning smile.

Several minutes later, Mai returned from the office kitchenette carrying a tray with tea for the three of them. She quickly served Naru and Yasuhara before taking her own cup. Since Naru was sitting on the sofa reading through the papers Yasuhara had given him, Mai decided to go back to staring at the assignment she'd been fighting with before she'd gone to make tea. Unfortunately, for her, she didn't notice Yasuhara come over to her desk to see what was written on her paper, so she was taken completely by surprise when he suddenly grabbed the sheet away from her and began reading it.

"Yasuhara-san! Give that back!" she cried out panicked. However, it was too late. Yasuhara was already skimming through the page. Mai knew when Yasuhara reached the part she'd been struggling with because he froze.

"Mai!" Naru yelled at her.

Mai flinched at the anger in Naru's voice as she snatched the paper back from Yasuhara and glared at him. But the damage was already done. He'd read the paper... However, before anyone could say anything else, the bell attached to the door of the office suddenly rang out merrily announcing the arrival of a guest.

"Wel... gah!" Mai's greeting quickly turned into a rude sound of displeasure as she turned and saw Hirota Seigi standing in the doorway.

A look of distaste crossed Naru's face briefly before he stood. "Mai, ask our guest to leave. Once you've finished with that, bring me some more tea in my office."

Mai looked surprised. She couldn't comment about Naru's behaviour given her own reaction to the person standing there, but still, Hirota could hear everything Naru said. Of all the people in the reception area, Yasuhara was the only one with a smile on his face, although it was very much his professional work smile.

Hirota grimaced slightly. Given how things had gone between himself and the SPR (+ Irregulars) for much of the Agawa case, he couldn't entirely blame them. Hirota Seigi was a member of the Tokyo District Special Investigations Unit's Zero Squad. Responsible for re-investigating unsolved cases where spirit manifestations, psychic ability, or curses might have been involved, he'd had a run in with the members of the SPR a little over a month ago. At the time, they'd often been at odds, not only because of his then utter disbelief in the paranormal, but also over his unofficial investigation of the SPR's boss, Shibuya Kazuya.

'Shibuya Kazuya' was an alias. The incredibly good-looking young man who led 'Shibuya Psychic Research' was in fact the famous and highly respected paranormal researcher, Oliver Davis, of the English SPR – an organisation that studied paranormal phenomena in an impartial, scientific manner. Their office initials SPR were in fact reflective of that organisation, and like Shibuya Kazuya was an alias for Oliver Davis, Shibuya Psychic Research was an alias for the Japanese Branch of the SPR.

At the time of the Agawa case, Hirota Seigi had been unofficially investigating any possible involvement Oliver Davis might have had in the death of his twin brother Eugene Davis. None of the members knew whether Hirota still believed Naru might have been involved in any way in Eugene's death, but they weren't too happy about seeing him. He'd simply been too stubborn and relentless in calling them frauds intent on robbing clients.

Hirota sighed. He thought he'd prepared himself for the reception he would receive when he came to the office, but apparently he was mistaken. Still, he couldn't just turn around and leave.

"Don't worry. If I had a choice, I wouldn't come within fifty feet of this place," he said looking annoyed.

"You're more than within fifty feet of this office, Hirota-san. In fact, you are _inside_ this office, so I'd appreciate it if you would leave," Naru said coolly.

"I said 'if I had a choice'!" Hirota shot back angrily.

"Ah! Do you mean Nakai-san?" Mai asked suddenly.

Naru glanced at her curiously at the mention of Nakai Saki. Hirota just looked away fidgeting uncomfortably.

"_Any_way, I'm here about work," he said heavily.

Naru glanced at Hirota. "Even assuming that you've started to consider the possibility that paranormal phenomena do in fact occur, I believe it's your _job_ to investigate whether such influences could be at the root of certain unsolved cases. I fail to see why you'd expect us to do your job for you... unless you're that incompetent of course."

Hirota struggled visibly to control his temper. He'd forgotten how sarcastic and sharp-tongued Naru could be.

Mai and Yasuhara glanced at one another before deciding to take control of the situation. If they let the two continue as they were, it would be an unending stream of angry comments followed by sarcastic retorts. Mai quickly fled to the safety of the office kitchenette, sensibly to make some new tea for everyone, while Yasuhara ushered Hirota in suggesting he take a seat.

Naru looked slightly annoyed that his employees were in fact doing the exact opposite of what he'd told them, but he soon gave in with a slight sigh. "And is your co-worker also coming here?" he asked resignedly as he slowly sat down again.

"Hm? Oh, um, no. She's still in Kyoto taking care of things there. I'd been helping out there as well, but she suggested that I contact you. We were hoping you could help with an investigation we're working on at the moment," Hirota confessed uncomfortably.

"I assume you have a house or building that needs to be investigated but lack the proper equipment for such an investigation?" Naru asked coolly.

Hirota flushed slightly, "Um, well... the investigation is still ongoing. We think we have a location and a common thread, but it's not a certainty. At best, we think that's the centre, but we don't have much else to go on at the moment."

Naru stared at Hirota in disbelief for a long moment. "You mean you really do expect us to do your job for you?"

Yasuhara quickly intervened before Hirota could get angry at Naru's question. "Hirota-san, why don't you start from the beginning. All this talk of an 'on-going investigation' without any detail is making for a very vague conversation."

Hirota frowned slightly at having been headed off by Yasuhara but slowly nodded. However, before he could begin his explanation, Mai returned from the kitchenette with new tea for everyone. He patiently waited for her to serve tea and to take her seat before beginning his explanation.

* * *

"Nakai and I were called in after the initial investigation into a multiple murder in Kyoto about a week ago. One of the investigating officers thought something was a bit odd about the circumstances and called my department for help. Most likely, you've heard about the Katou case on the news?" Hirota asked the others. 

Naru's expression didn't change while Mai and Yasuhara both indicated knowledge of the recent incident.

"That's the case where the father went on a killing spree murdering his wife and his wife's parents but whose daughter is missing, right?" Mai asked seeking confirmation.

"And immediately after the killings, the killer then contacted the police and confessed to the three murders," Yasuhara added.

"Right," Hirota nodded.

Mai and Yasuhara glanced at one another before Mai hesitantly asked, "Why are you investigating that case? It didn't seem like there were any umm... unusual circumstances."

Hirota grimaced slightly. His reaction had been much the same when he and Nakai were first called in to investigate the murder.

"During his confession, the perpetrator – Katou Hiroshi – claimed there was a blank in his memory. According to his story, he says he went looking for his daughter, who he thought had wandered off somewhere as she was prone to do. However, he has no memory of the time between looking for his daughter and picking up the axe he used to kill the rest of the family."

Naru looked impatient. "Maybe he's trying to get out of taking responsibility for what he'd done by claiming temporary insanity," he said with a shrug.

Hirota shook his head. "I don't think so. Not once did he deny doing the killing. In fact he seemed pretty stunned and horrified at what had happened, and he was fully aware that it was he who'd done it. What he didn't understand was why and that blank in his memory. He also doesn't know where his daughter went. And before you start coming up with alternative ideas, we've tested for abuse or exposure to drugs, conflicting medications, etc., so that's also out. He's also been declared mentally competent following a psychological evaluation. What's more important is why we were even called in in the first place."

Hirota paused frowning slightly. He'd learned through experience that the people of this office didn't try to blame everything on the paranormal. The boss was too lost on the research aspect to want to waste his precious time on anything that didn't involve the paranormal.

"The house where the incident happened, it's not the first violent crime to happen there," he said finally.

Naru didn't miss a beat as he shot back, "Just because one crime happens in a place doesn't mean it won't ever happen there again."

"With the same comment about not knowing how he went from looking for his dog in that case to picking up a knife and killing his wife! In the previous case, the perp immediately turned himself in to the police," Hirota replied annoyed. "Nakai's currently piecing together the history of that house and the various people who've lived there and what happened to them."

Naru smiled thinly. "Are you suggesting a spirit's there haunting the place and causing residents to kill one another?"

Hirota paused before he shook his head. "That's what I thought at first, but it didn't seem to make any sense," he confessed.

Naru raised an eyebrow slightly. "Have there been any reports of strange occurrences at the house, strange lights or apparitions, things moving, doors opening or closing on their own? Are there any rumours of the place being haunted in the neighbourhood?"

Hirota shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of, and not that we've been able to discover from anyone else yet either."

Naru cocked his head to one side at that comment. "So, you want us to investigate a house, which shows no signs of paranormal activity and isn't even reputed to be haunted, simply because it was the site of two murders that had one thing in common?"

"Not one, three!" Hirota yelled angrily. "Both times it was a male, they were both looking for someone or something, and they both experienced the same memory blank."

Naru blinked at Hirota's reply. "Nothing you've mentioned indicates any sort of paranormal activity, and if there's no data to be recorded or obtained, this office isn't interested. If you're trying to find the cause of the crimes, despite the case not being in Tokyo, you should look to your own department; in other words, do your job. Alternatively, you could try finding a medium or other psychic who is willing to bill your department into bankruptcy as they join you on your wild goose chase."

Hirota took a deep breath but said nothing for a long moment as he stared into his tea. He finally looked at Naru asking, "Is that your final answer?"

Naru nodded.

Hirota sighed in resignation. He knew this would be the result even before he left Nakai in Kyoto. He nodded slightly before climbing to his feet. "I figured you'd say that, but I had to try," he said. "Well, if you change your mind, I'm sure Yasuhara-san knows my number."

Hirota opened his mouth to say something more, but after a brief pause, closed it and shook his head. "Taniyama-san, thank you for the tea," he said finally as he left the office.

* * *

After Hirota left, Mai started cleaning away the tea things from the reception area. Much to her surprise, Naru remained sitting where he was and continued reading through the data set Yasuhara had given him. 

"Naru, did you want more tea?" Mai asked hesitantly.

Naru didn't look up as he nodded. Mai smiled wryly at her boss's response. She glanced inquiringly at Yasuhara who also nodded with a smile.

Several minutes later, Mai came back out of the kitchenette with fresh tea for everyone. After serving everyone, she took her own cup back to her desk, when Yasuhara came over to her desk and handed her one of the day's newspapers.

"We forgot to take care of this earlier," he said with a rueful smile before returning to his own desk. He then opened another newspaper and started checking through the stories.

Several minutes later, after having read through a number of pages of the newspaper, Mai started chatting with Yasuhara as she continued looking for any unusual incidents. "What did you think of Hirota-san's case, Yasuhara-san?"

Yasuhara frowned before shaking his head. "There didn't seem to be anything that would indicate paranormal activity. And if there's no actual measurable manifestation happening in the house..."

"Yeah, I thought that odd, too," Mai responded. "I mean, he knows how much of a mad scientist Naru is, so he at least needed to have some sort of paranormal activity happening there."

The two fell silent for a moment as they considered Hirota's strange visit.

"Oh, hey, listen to this one. 'Kyoto teen beaten up by best friend: Two Kyoto teens snuck out of their homes late Monday night to take a break from their exam studies when one of the teens suddenly attacked the other. The mother of the victim claims her son's friend was possessed by a fox spirit.'" Mai said reading a small article she found at the bottom of one page. "Do you have it in yours as well?"

Yasuhara shook his head. "That one's not in mine, but I do have the proverbial haunted tunnel," he said. "A small group of university students are claiming that their vehicle was attacked by unknown spirits when driving through a rural tunnel in Niigata. Supposedly a bunch of hands suddenly appeared on all the windows of their vehicle. They claim that their van was slowing down because of all the hands grabbing onto it, so the driver floored the pedal to get out of the tunnel as quickly as he could but ended up losing control of the vehicle and crashing into a tree. The teens claim that there were strange scratch marks and bloody hand prints all over the vehicle."

"Ewww. That sounds like it came out of some horror movie or something," Mai said shivering slightly. "Could you imagine having a bunch of hands just show up out of nowhere?"

"Ahahah, Taniyama-san, what are you talking about? I wouldn't think hands would be quite so bad after having zombies come after you for a whole night," Yasuhara said sounding mildly amused.

"...Yeah, but we're talking about hands. Only hands and nothing else," Mai said frowning. "Which is worse, having a ghost look at you, or having a thousand eyes all over the walls, floor, and ceiling just staring at you?"

"Hmmm, well I guess if you put it that way." Yasuhara said. "It says that alcohol may have been a factor in this accident though, so I wonder how reliable their story is."

"Good point," Mai agreed. She fell silent as she continued reading through the headlines.

"...I'm glad we're not going on an investigation yet." Mai muttered to herself quietly after a long moment.

"Taniyama-san?" Yasuhara asked looking at her oddly. He knew that Mai was paid more when they were out on an investigation due to the dangers involved and the fact that they were on the job 24/7. So, it was rare for her not to want to be out on an investigation.

Mai's head jerked up in surprise at the sound of concern in Yasuhara's voice. "Ah, sorry, it's nothing..." she answered looking flustered. She hadn't realised she'd spoken out loud.

"Taniyama-san, do you honestly think I'll buy that?" Yasuhara asked looking at her oddly. It was clear from her expression that it wasn't "nothing".

Mai shook her head. She remained silent for a long moment as she continued reading through the paper on her desk.

"Taniyama-san," Yasuhara said firmly.

Mai sighed. She could almost feel Yasuhara's gaze. "To be honest, I'm not sure how I would feel about going on a case yet," she confessed. "Ah, it's not like I wouldn't want to go or I have a bad feeling or anything like that. I'm just not sure about sleeping if we went on one. Not yet. Not when there's a kid missing and presumed dead."

Yasuhara looked at her steadily at that comment. He'd heard from the Irregulars about Gene showing up in Mai's dreams during the Agawa case and how he'd connected her to Naru's psychometric vision. In her dreams, she experienced the child's last terrifying moments when someone broke into his home and murdered his entire family before finding and killing him. Mai had been badly shaken, both by the dream as well as by Gene's sudden re-appearance. But mostly by the latter. However, Yasuhara thought Mai had come to terms with it. "It's not like you can avoid sleeping. After all, you're not Lin-san or the boss." Yasuhara said quietly.

"I know. I thought I was okay with things once I got over the initial shock; after all, I was really happy to be able to see him again. But..." Mai sighed unhappily. "I don't know how I feel right now. Gene's probably asleep, so if we go on a case... I don't know if I'm hoping that he does show up or that he doesn't. I mean, he's always shown up, right? But at the same time, I know that it'd be better if he didn't. But... but I can't help hoping... wanting to see him again."

Mai looked away and stared out the office window. "I want to see him again. But at the same time I don't want to see him again. And I know I don't want to see or experience another kid's death again; not so soon. I think, I'd be afraid of sleeping because of what I might dream," she said quietly.

_'I'll want to see him, but I'm also afraid I won't see him,'_ she thought to herself.

Mai never realised Naru was still in the reception area while she was speaking with Yasuhara.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was one o'clock by the time Yasuhara entered the office after class the next day. The reception area was completely empty as the ringing of the bell attached to the door faded away. He couldn't help smiling wryly over the fact that no one was in the reception area. For some reason, his boss was rarely out there when he arrived, although he was fairly sure Naru was often out in the reception area when neither he nor Mai was in the office. Yasuhara shook his head slightly as he hung his coat before going to his desk.

It was exactly as he'd left it the night before. Glancing at Mai's desk, he saw that no new work had been added to her desk either. A mischievous glint shone in his eyes as he opened his bag and pulled out his notebook. However, it quickly disappeared as he sat down at his computer and checked his email before continuing with the data analyses he'd been working on earlier. He'd almost finished it yesterday, so it shouldn't take him much longer.

He paused for a moment as Hirota's visit flashed through his mind. Then, shaking his head, he returned to the task at hand.

* * *

A few hours later, Yasuhara was printing out the last of the data analyses he'd run as well as the results from some searches he'd done via the internet. He glanced at the clock and sighed. Mai should be arriving soon. 

Yasuhara gathered the various printouts and other paperwork together and went to Naru's office. After a perfunctory knock, he entered his boss's office.

"I've brought you the analyses you've been waiting for," Yasuhara said as he handed Naru the papers.

As Naru began flipping through the results, Yasuhara put some forms down on the desk and held out a pen. "I also need you to sign these requests from head office as well as these for the building management," he said.

Naru barely glanced at the sheets as he took the pen and signed them.

"And..." Yasuhara said drawing out the word.

Naru looked up mildly annoyed that Yasuhara hadn't left yet so he could go through the printouts and get back to work. His frown deepened when he saw Yasuhara's glasses glint suspiciously.

"Here are the preliminary results of my search into the incident in Kyoto that Hirota-san wants you to investigate," Yasuhara said handing Naru a thick sheaf of papers.

"Yasuhara-san, we're not..." Naru began when his voice trailed off suddenly, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Yasuhara nodded. "From the information Hirota-san gave us yesterday, I don't see how he could possibly have expected you to agree to the case. He must've had an alternate plan in place, and that was most likely his attempt to give you a chance to agree to the investigation first."

Naru sighed as he considered the situation. "Where's Mai?" he asked.

"Taniyama-san hasn't arrived yet, but normally she should arrive in the next ten to fifteen minutes," Yasuhara replied.

Naru closed his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. But just as he opened them again, the phone on his desk rang.

Naru stared at the phone for a moment before answering it. "Hello?"

"_Ah, Naru?"_

He sighed again as he felt a slight headache building. "Mai, where are you?"

"_Umm... I think we're getting close to Kyoto,"_ Mai answered sounding a little embarrassed.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you not to go with strangers?" Naru asked annoyed.

"_...Hirota-san's not a stranger,"_ she answered sulkily.

Naru closed his eyes wearily. "Stay on the train and wait for it to come back to Tokyo."

"_...This train's supposed to go all the way down to Hakata,"_ Mai said reluctantly. _"And before you tell me to do anything else, I'll have you know that I don't have much money on me, and I accidentally left my bank card at home today."_

"Idiot."

"_...I didn't expect anything like this from Hirota-san,"_ she said after a long pause. _"He's just not the type."_

"And what does your kidnapper want?" Naru asked coolly.

"_'Kidnapper'?"_

"What else would you call this, Taniyama-san? Or are you telling me you're with him willingly and are calling to take a few days off from work? If that's the case, I'll be more than happy to let you have the rest of the week off, and you can enjoy your weekend with Hirota-san. Just make sure that he lets you come back next week. I don't think you should miss too much school for no reason. After all, your grades aren't that great to begin with."

"_..."_

Naru heard Mai sigh slightly on the other end of the line. _"Umm, he said he wants you to investigate that house he was talking about yesterday, even if it's just a preliminary investigation and not a full one. Naru, you will come... won't you?"_ Mai asked hesitantly. She knew Naru wasn't interested in Hirota's case, and that his having to come out to Kyoto to "rescue" her was a great imposition on him.

"Don't go anywhere near the site until we can get down there," he said resignedly. "And let me talk to Hirota-san for a moment."

"_'Kay."_

He heard Mai talk briefly to Hirota before handing the phone over.

"_Hirota,"_ a male voice said on the other end of the line.

"Hirota-san," Naru said coldly. "It seems you've absconded with one of my staff without my permission."

"_...It wasn't my idea to call you in in the first place,"_ Hirota said sullenly.

"As tempted as I am to leave Mai in your hands, I doubt you could keep her out of trouble. I suggest you lock her up until either Yasuhara-san or I can get down there to collect her. Better still, put her on the next train back to Tokyo, where she _probably_ won't cause anyone any trouble, and we can forget any of this ever happened."

"_Nakai'd have my skin if I let her go, especially after bringing her all this way. ...You are coming down to investigate, right?"_ Hirota asked hesitantly.

"Since that appears to be the ransom demand for me to get my employee back, and since Mai seems to want to be rescued, yes, we'll do a preliminary investigation to determine if there is any paranormal activity in the house. If that comes up negative, we'll take Mai with us and leave," Naru affirmed.

"_Fair enough,"_ Hirota agreed.

"And you'll also agree not to try kidnapping her again. Ever," Naru continued.

"_...I have no problem with that seeing how I didn't want to do this in the first place, but I don't know if Nakai'll agree to it,"_ Hirota said after a pause.

"Then it'll be up to you to see to it that she does," Naru said dismissing Hirota's objection. "Hirota-san, make sure Mai doesn't go anywhere near that house until one of us can get down there."

"_...I know that already,"_ Hirota said sounding mildly annoyed.

"I don't think you do," Naru said coldly. "Make _absolutely certain_ that Mai does not go anywhere near that place until we can get there. Otherwise, you're responsible for whatever happens afterwards."

Hirota sighed. He knew from the previous case that Mai was never sent out on a job alone and that she still needed more training. While he suspected that her boss was being overly protective and cautious, he also didn't want to create any more problems, so he reluctantly agreed. _'I hope Nakai doesn't come meet us at the train station otherwise it'll be hard to keep her from dragging Taniyama-san out there,'_ he thought ruefully.

"_I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything,"_ he said.

"Hirota-san..."

"_That's the best I can give you. By the way, is it possible for whoever's coming out to bring some things for Taniyama-san? I dragged her out here without any notice, so she'll need some stuff. Of course, I might be able to keep her away from the place more easily if she has to get herself some things before hand,"_ Hirota said.

"Everyone here has an overnight bag in case we have to go out on a case suddenly," Naru said. "However, they're only meant for a few days, and it's not yet certain whether Yasuhara-san or I can get down there tonight."

"_Alright, I'll see about getting her some basic things to last at least a day or two then,"_ Hirota said.

"At your expense," Naru added.

Hirota sighed on the other end of the line. _"And I'll cover her expenses while she's in my care,"_ he added resignedly.

* * *

Yasuhara waited patiently as Naru sat thinking in silence for a long moment. From what he'd heard, he knew the office would try to get down to Kyoto that night, but since it was nearing 4:00 P.M., he also realised that it would be difficult to get everything done in time. He started running through the Irregulars schedule, _'Hara-san's currently busy with work, Matsuzaki-san... I don't know if she has anything planned, Takigawa-san... has a live performance this weekend, and Brown-san... most likely he'll have duties for Sunday. So, except for Matsuzaki-san, none of the Irregulars will likely be able to join us until after the initial investigation is over.'_

"Yasuhara-san, tell Lin about Hirota-san's request and have him get started right away on checking the equipment we'll need on the investigation." Naru paused for a moment. "Also, check with Matsuzaki-san and see how her schedule is for the next several days just in case. She's probably the only one who's able to come down any time soon if we need any help."

"Yes sir," Yasuhara responded and turned to leave when he stopped and turned to look back at Naru. "Shochou, will you be heading down to Kyoto right away then?" he asked.

Naru looked at Yasuhara oddly, "Why would I head out right away?"

"Between the two of us, you're better at keeping Taniyama-san out of trouble," Yasuhara replied smoothly.

Naru grimaced slightly. "No, you'll have to try to keep her out of trouble. It makes more sense for you to go there first. If you go, you'll at least be able to take Mai with you, while you're gathering information about the area and the house in question, effectively keeping her out of trouble. I can go through these papers on the road."

"Oooh, the _Shounen Tanteidan_ gains another member again," Yasuhara said mischievously.

"Yasuhara-san..."

"I know, we'll be working," he replied easily.

Naru shook his head. "Keep an eye on Mai tonight. While it's unlikely she'll dream anything relevant, especially this early in the investigation, just in case..."

The smile faded from Yasuhara's face as Naru's sentence trailed off, "Understood. It might be better if you weren't the only one there should anything like that happen."

"Exactly," Naru agreed.

"In that case, should I have Matsuzaki-san come down right away assuming her schedule allows it?"

"...No," Naru replied after a brief pause. "Given Hirota-san's report, even Mai would realise something was up if Matsuzaki-san came down right away. In any case, let's get to work. You should head out as soon as you're ready."

"Yes sir," Yasuhara said as he quickly set about his work.

It wasn't until several minutes later that a strange thought crossed Naru's mind and he looked up and stared at the closed door to his office. _'Request forms from Head Office? Why would _Yasuhara-san_ receive those?'_ he wondered briefly.

* * *

**Author's Note:** For those who might be curious, the ride via Nozomi shinkansen (the fastest shinkansen train service) from Tokyo to Kyoto takes approx. 2.5 hours, and from Tokyo to Hakata (end of the line) is around 5-5.5 hrs. Many trains end in Osaka (stop immediately after Kyoto when coming from Tokyo), but Mai happened to be on one that went all the way to Hakata. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was early afternoon by the time all the office regulars met at the house in question on the border between Fushimi Ward's Yodo district and Yawata city. Between Hirota's immediately disappearing with Mai to get her some things in Kyoto's Kawaramachi shopping district, to when they subsequently met up with Yasuhara once he arrived, Nakai hadn't had a chance to drag them off to the house in question the previous day.

Naru had a displeased look on his face as he got out of the passenger's seat of the company van.

"Idiot," he said as Mai came running up to meet him.

Mai was stopped in her tracks by that one word. However, before she could say anything, Naru continued to delineate exactly what he thought of her for being fooled by Hirota. "Klutz, dunce, simpleton, unthinking gullible fool..."

"I got it already!" Mai snapped annoyed. "I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble, Shochou-sama."

Naru sighed. "Cell phone."

Mai looked at him confused. "Huh? 'Cell phone'?" she repeated.

Naru's expression showed a hint of impatience at her lack of understanding. "Cell phone – do you have one? Why didn't you phone as soon as you realised what was happening rather than waiting until you almost reached Kyoto. It would've given us an extra 2.5 hours to prepare while you sat twiddling your thumbs on the train."

Mai had an odd expression on her face as she looked at Naru. _'Who would've thought _that's_ what he was asking about just from his saying 'cell phone'?!'_ she wondered to herself. Mai shook her head, "I don't have one. It's too expensive," she said.

Naru sighed again before gesturing to the van. "Get started carrying the equipment into the house," he said. "I assume a room's been set aside for us to use as a base?" he asked glancing inquiringly at Hirota. Both Hirota and Yasuhara stood several paces behind Mai.

Hirota nodded, "The first room on your right. It's a Japanese-style room but fairly sizeable and should be large enough. There are some bedrooms upstairs where people can sleep while you're here."

Naru shook his head slightly, "I'd rather we didn't stay the first night, just in case something is here. Is there a hotel nearby?"

Mai blushed slightly and looked away in embarrassment at Naru's question. She'd asked a similar question yesterday when they first met up with Yasuhara.

"Th-there're a couple of hotels, yeah... but you don't want to stay there," Hirota stammered.

Naru looked at them oddly before glancing at Yasuhara for an explanation.

"Ah, we stayed at a hotel near Kyoto station yesterday," Yasuhara said. "While there are two hotels in this area, they're both love hotels."

Naru blinked uncomprehendingly at Yasuhara's explanation.

"For some reason Taniyama-san was completely against staying there with me..." Yasuhara said amused.

"Y-yasuhara-san!" Mai stammered blushing furiously.

"And even if you don't mind that sort of place, they often won't let two men rent a room together, and they certainly won't let a single person get a room either." Yasuhara continued. "And while they might let two men get a room if Taniyama-san were with them, I don't think she'd be too happy with that. Not to mention, there'll only be the one bed..."

Naru's eyes widened slightly as he realised what Yasuhara was hinting at. "...Is there nothing else nearby?" he asked finally.

"Nothing suitable, no," Yasuhara replied.

Naru sighed. "Alright. Do you have the blueprints for the house?"

"Ah, yes sir. Here are the plans as well as a bit more information about the history of this house," Yasuhara said as he handed a sheaf of papers and a roll of building plans to Naru. "I'll help Taniyama-san and Lin-san carry things in to the base and set up the equipment."

Naru barely nodded as he wandered into the house reading through the information Yasuhara had gathered. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of the others as they began unloading the van.

* * *

It took almost two hours for the SPR regulars to set up the base. The room was fairly sizeable and had been set up as a formal living room area. Fusuma separated the base from the smaller piano room next door, while the kitchen sat on the other side of the hall. In total, there were three bedrooms upstairs, a half bath on each floor, a laundry room/change area next to the traditional bath, a kitchen, a formal dining area, a living room, and a piano room.

After setting up the base, Lin ensured the equipment was set up and recording properly, while Mai and Yasuhara went off together to check the temperature readings throughout the house, outside, as well as that of a small garage that doubled as a storage shed. They also double-checked room measurements and compared them to the original building plans. Yasuhara then went to report to Naru while Mai went to the kitchen to make tea for everyone. By the time Mai returned with tea, Naru had already started going over the case details with Hirota.

"As far as we've been able to determine, there've been two murder incidents in this house," Hirota said as Mai entered. "The most recent being the case with Katou Hiroshi. He killed three people in this house with an axe from the garage. In his statement, he said he couldn't remember anything between going out looking for his daughter and picking up the murder weapon. He also mentioned hearing a voice in his head constantly telling him to "do it". It was this statement that caught the attention of one of the investigating officers. Detective Konishi's a veteran of the force and has been working in this area for many years. It's he who noticed the similarity between the two cases at that house and contacted Zero Squad for help." Hirota paused as Mai handed him a cup of tea.

"In the previous case, as I'd mentioned at your office, the husband stabbed his wife to death. According to Yoshimura Hideki's confession, he'd been out looking for his dog when he suddenly found himself picking up a large kitchen and stabbed his wife," Hirota continued. "Those are all the murders that happened in this house."

"I gave you what information I was able to gather on the internet about those cases yesterday," Yasuhara said. "This morning Taniyama-san and I checked with the ward office about the history of this house and the various people who lived here. It appears the original house here was built in 1927."

Naru looked at Yasuhara at that statement. From the outside, he thought the house looked like it was built in the 70's. It certainly hadn't looked like it was built over 70 years ago. He glanced around the room. It too didn't look to be so old.

Yasuhara nodded. "The original house was built in 1927 by the Kuribayashi family. They lived here for 26 years, until 1953. The house was then sold to the Yamagishi family who lived here for the next 21 years, until 1974. They then sold the house, and the Yoshimuras moved in next. They lived here until the murder two years later. Yoshimura's brother then took possession of the house. According to the newspapers, the brother was extremely superstitious and had the house burned to the ground. He even had a priest bless the land before having the current house built. It was completed in 1978. He then sold the house to the Kishimoto family who lived here for four years. After they left, the house sat empty for about half a year before the Sawada family moved in. The family consisted of the husband, wife, and their seven-year-old son. They lived here for two years before moving out in 1985. The Takeda family then moved here in 1986. This family – consisting of husband, wife, and two teenage sons – lived here for 1.5 years before moving. The timing of the move seems to be a bit strange."

Naru looked at Yasuhara at that comment. "Why is it strange?" he asked.

"Ah, it's not like a reason was given for moving or anything like that," Yasuhara began, "But they moved out not even two months before the end of the school year. If the move was work related, most likely one parent would've stayed here with the sons until after the school year was over and _then_ moved, rather than have their sons change schools at that time of year."

Yasuhara paused to take a sip of tea as he glanced at his notes. "Um, that brings us up to 1988 when the Fujii family moved here. They lived here for three years. The house then stood empty for another year before the Nishimuras - Katou Hiroshi's wife's parents - moved here," Yasuhara concluded.

Naru frowned slightly. "So, two families lived here between 1927 and 1974. In 1974 the Yoshimuras moved here until Yoshimura Hideki killed his wife in 1976. The house was then burned down and rebuilt in 1978, and between 1978 and 1992 four families lived here and the Nishimuras moved here in 1992 and stayed here for... 15 years when their son-in-law murdered them and their daughter," he said summarising Yasuhara's findings.

"That's right," Yasuhara agreed.

Naru frowned as he considered the house's history. "Anything else?"

"Umm... nothing else regarding the house itself, no." Yasuhara said. "Tomorrow, I'm going to try looking more into the families who lived here between 1978 and 1991 and why they moved away, as well as a little more about this area in general."

Naru nodded. "I would've expected Hirota-san to have already done this since he and Nakai-san have been here for some time before he called us in," he said looking at Hirota expectantly.

Hirota looked away. "Um, Nakai's supposed to be looking for any other information involving the people who lived here, but I haven't heard from her regarding the results yet," he said looking a little uncomfortable.

Naru sighed, "Yasuhara-san, see what you can dig up. I'm sure you'll be more successful and faster than the people who have access to much more complete records than we seem to be doing."

"Yes sir."

Naru turned to look at Mai. "What about you? Have you sensed anything or felt anything since coming here?" he asked.

Mai looked surprised at his question. "Umm, nothing really. But I'm awake right now, so I wouldn't be able to see much," she said.

"You really are useless," Naru said with a sigh.

"Wha-!" Mai exclaimed.

However, before she could continue, Naru looked at her in exasperation. "You're supposed to be a sensitive, are you not, Taniyama-san? I thought the test we ran on you some time ago illustrated that quite clearly," he said annoyed.

"Ah..." Mai hesitated then looked away shaking her head. "I didn't feel anything about this house when we got here," she said in a small voice.

Naru nodded. "Alright. From the temperature readings you and Yasuhara-san took earlier, there are no areas or rooms that are significantly colder than any others, and the temperatures are within the expected range compared to outside temperatures. Likewise, the garage area seems pretty normal," he said as he flipped through the numbers on the clipboard Yasuhara had handed him after finishing measuring the temperature throughout the property.

Naru glanced at Hirota. "Hirota-san, I'm assuming it _is_ permissible for us to stay here in this house like this? After all, you're the one who came to us to investigate this place. But as far as I'm aware, the police don't own this property."

Hirota nodded. "Nakai spoke to the people at the real-estate agency in charge of the property now. Apparently, they're happy and relieved to have someone checking out the house before they sell it again, and we're free to stay as long as we want. They're even going so far as keeping all the basic utilities including the phone line connected."

Naru nodded. "In that case, we'll stay here. We'll use the adjoining room to sleep in tonight."

Hirota's eyes widened. "You can't be serious. What about Taniyama-san?" he asked. "She needs more privacy than that!"

Naru looked at him annoyed. "Hirota-san, we're here to work. You're the one who insisted on dragging us out here like this," he said impatiently. "Or would you rather I have you, Yasuhara-san, and Mai stay at one of the "love hotels" while Lin and I stay here and keep an eye on the monitors tonight?"

Hirota's eyes widened in shock at Naru's question while Mai turned bright red.

Yasuhara looked amused. "I'd much rather have Takigawa-san with us, but I suppose having Hirota-san with us might be interesting..." he said agreeably.

"Wha-! You... That's not... Uh..." Hirota spluttered unable to get a coherent sentence together.

Hirota massaged his temples as he struggled to keep from saying anything. He remembered his conversation with Mai at the end of the Agawa case and how he didn't think it was a good idea for a young girl like her to stay overnight, sometimes staying for days, in abandoned houses with a bunch of men and no other women. Mai had laughed at him at the time telling him that it was for work, and given how Lin and Naru were, she was in absolutely no danger. She'd also wondered if, given his concerns, Hirota might be a wolf in disguise therefore. Hirota shook his head slightly. Right now, he wished he was with Nakai going through police records and staying in Kyoto rather than staying with the members of this office.

"Naru, wouldn't it be better for you and Lin-san to take turns watching the monitors?" Mai asked hesitantly.

"Is that an invitation, Taniyama-san?" Naru asked with a cold, cynical smile. "As I told Hirota-san, we're here to work."

Mai's blush deepened at Naru's words. "That's not..."

"Yasuhara-san will have an early start tomorrow, so he'll need to get some sleep tonight. You're pretty much useless unless you're asleep, so you might as well get some sleep too," Naru continued. His eyes narrowed slightly, "In any case, I am _not_ my brother," he said icily.

Mai's breath caught at those words as she instantly paled. Naru caught a brief glimpse of the shock and hurt look in her wide eyes before she turned away.

Yasuhara was instantly beside Mai. He wrapped his arm firmly around her shoulders and guided her towards the exit. "Taniyama-san, let's see about getting something together for dinner," Yasuhara said gently. He gave Naru a long hard look before leaving the base, but Naru refused to meet his gaze.

After Yasuhara's and Mai's footsteps died away, Lin turned to Naru. "Naru..." he said reprovingly.

Naru refused to look at him and just shook his head slightly. Lin sighed quietly before turning back to face the monitors.

* * *

In the kitchen, Yasuhara got Mai busy putting together some simple sandwiches for dinner while he set about making a light salad.

"Hmm... it's too bad we can't make something like bread or biscuits," he said.

Mai glanced at Yasuhara confused. Much to his relief, he saw that, while slightly teary, she wasn't crying.

"Well, bread's great for taking your frustrations out on. After all you have to punch down the dough, right?" he asked with a slight grin. "And you're supposed to beat the _hell_ out of biscuits, so all you'd have to do is picture a certain someone's face..."

Mai managed a slightly wobbly smile at Yasuhara's suggestion.

"But I'm glad we won't be spending the night with the boss. Five-year-old boys aren't high on my list of preferences," Yasuhara said thinking seriously.

"Y-yasu... hara... -san?" Mai asked hesitantly.

"What's this? Don't you think he acts like the little boy in kindergarten who tries getting a girl's attention by being mean to her or teasing her?" he asked mildly.

Mai blinked in surprise and giggled at the image his words brought to mind.

"You mean you don't agree?" he asked innocently.

Mai laughed. "Yasuhara-san, Lin-san's listening, and Naru might hear this if he goes through the tapes later!"

"Hmm... I wonder if Shibuya-san hasn't noticed his own behaviour yet," Yasuhara wondered out loud. "My... he's usually so observant, too..."

"If it's about the occult, yes." Mai agreed readily. "But I think he's pretty dense when it comes to anything else."

"True," Yasuhara agreed. He paused slightly before grinning slyly at Mai. "...And here I was worried that if Shibuya-san was spending the night with us, I'd get lost in his good looks and not pay as much attention to you as you deserved."

"Y-yasuhara-san!" Mai exclaimed blushing slightly.

"What's this? Don't tell me you'd be embarrassed about spending another night with me. Not after _last_ night..." Yasuhara teased gently.

"Y-yasuhara-san, stop that!" Mai couldn't help laughing at Yasuhara's words. "Lin-san's listening! You'll give him the wrong impression!"

Yasuhara gave Mai a look of wide-eyed innocence. "But Taniyama-san, how could he _possibly_ get the wrong impression from our spending the night together in the same hotel room? Besides, I was discrete. After all, we spent the night at a regular hotel rather than staying at one of the love hotels nearby." His expression turned mischievous. "Maybe next time we shouldn't be so discrete. I'd love to try out one of those themed love hotels..."

Mai struggled to contain her laughter. "Yasuhara-san!" She barely managed to choke out his name.

"In any case, I'll finish the sandwiches, Taniyama-san. So, if you could make some new tea..." he suggested.

"Oka-y." Mai said as she went to fill the kettle with fresh water.

* * *

After having a light dinner of sandwiches and tea, Yasuhara helped Mai with what homework she'd received in her morning classes before Hirota whisked her away from school. Since there was no cell phone signal in the area, he couldn't do much more research that night.

Nakai called the house close to 10 P.M. briefing Hirota on her progress. She suggested that Hirota come down and help her read through the records as there was a lot more extraneous material to sift through than she'd expected. However, Hirota refused to leave as he didn't feel comfortable leaving the SPR regulars on their own in the house quite yet. He didn't care what the property management company thought about having people investigate for paranormal activity. He still didn't like the idea of one teenage girl spending the night alone in an empty house with so many other men.

"By the way, Taniyama-san," Yasuhara said suddenly glancing at her. He was currently sitting leaning against the wall opposite her reading through his case notes.

Mai looked at him.

"Did you finish the homework you were working on yesterday? I think it was for English, wasn't it?" he asked looking amused.

"Y-y-y-yasuhara-san!" Mai exclaimed flushing.

Naru and Lin both turned to look at her.

"Ah, sorry." Mai muttered. She glared at Yasuhara.

"We didn't work on it tonight, and from what I saw yesterday, it didn't look like it was due yet. I'll be more than happy to help you with it..." Yasuhara said.

Mai had a bad feeling she knew what he was going to say.

"...although I really think the boss would be able to help you more," he finished.

"No, thank you!" Mai snapped as she glared at him. "_No one_ is going to help me with that assignment."

Yasuhara just laughed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next morning, Mai woke up to find that someone had covered her with a blanket some time during the night. She remembered Naru telling her to go to bed around 2 A.M. and her stubborn refusal. She also vaguely recalled hearing Yasuhara when he first got up that morning, but surprisingly, nothing else after that. She'd intended to start her day when Yasuhara got up, but apparently, her body decided to betray her.

Mai slowly climbed to her feet before folding the blanket. "Ah, Lin-san, good morning," she said glancing around the room. "Where's Naru?"

Lin turned to look at her. "He's sleeping right now, but he should be up soon," he answered. "Yasuhara-san left a few hours ago to gather more information about this house and the area."

Mai looked a bit surprised at Lin's comment and glanced at her watch. It was already late morning.

"Aa. I'll go get cleaned up and make some tea," she said as she rushed off to grab some things from her bag.

* * *

It was almost twenty minutes later before Mai returned with a tray of sandwiches and tea. By that time, Naru was also up doing a quick check of the data collected while he'd been sleeping. 

"I'm sorry, but I'm not very good at cooking, so I made sandwiches again." she said apologetically as she came in. "Ah, Naru, good morning."

Naru barely glanced at her before turning back to the monitors and checking through the data. Mai sighed slightly as she set sandwiches and tea next to him. Lin nodded his thanks to her as she served him. Mai then sat at the low table set to one side in the base and started eating.

"Mai," Naru said suddenly.

Mai looked up to see him looking at her from where he sat next to Lin.

"Go and talk to the residents along this street," he said. "See if anyone's heard of any strange rumours in the area."

Mai blinked in surprise. "Which way?" she asked. "Towards Yodo or towards Yawata City?"

Naru frowned slightly. "Go whichever way you like. Once you reach the next major intersection, go down to the train station and catch the train to the next stop and do the same on the other side."

"Ehhhh?! You want me to do the whole street?! Today?!?" she cried dismayed. "It's at least a 30 minute walk to the station and this street's over a kilometre long!"

"Then I'd suggest you get going," Naru said coolly. "And don't forget to take a two-way radio with you."

"Okay..." Mai replied despondently.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon by the time a tired looking Yasuhara returned to the house they were investigating. He glanced around the base noticing that Mai wasn't in the room. "Ah, Lin-san, where's Taniyama-san?" he asked. 

Lin-san turned from the monitors he was watching to glance at Yasuhara. "She just checked-in after finishing speaking to the area residents, so she should be back shortly," he said.

Yasuhara nodded. "In that case, I'll go make some tea," he said.

Several minutes later, Yasuhara came back to the base to find everyone waiting for him. Mai had apparently just returned and was still wearing her jacket. Yasuhara served tea to all the members before opening his notebook to discuss the results of the afternoon's investigation.

Yasuhara cleared his throat. "Since it's Saturday today, I went to the local community centre, local library, as well as the main library in Kyoto," he said. "Hirota-san, are you aware that the crime rate in this area is higher than neighbouring areas?"

"Yeah, but I assumed it was because the race track was here."

Yasuhara nodded. "Normally, you'd think that would explain it. But we're over 30 mins walk away from the track here," he said as he flipped through his notes briefly. "I first went through the community newsletters and found that both this neighbourhood and the neighbouring city have a higher than average rate of crime. I then searched through past newspapers for incidents that occurred either in Yodo or Yawata and focussed on those incidents that occurred close to this house. Interestingly, this house seems to have a more violent history than the two murders would seem to indicate. However, it isn't just this house that seems to have a history of violence, but a number of incidents seems to have taken place in this area. I've only managed to go back several years, but the reported incidents are proving somewhat interesting."

Naru looked at Yasuhara.

"What's interesting is the crimes happening on this stretch of road. This area isn't exactly what you'd call a high traffic area, however, there seems to be a higher than normal rate of violent crime, especially physical assault," Yasuhara explained. "In any case, I'll start with the incidents that occurred in this house. In the case of the Sawadas – the second family to live here after the house was rebuilt – the wife had the husband arrested and charged with assault and filed for divorce. That led to their leaving this house. I also found the Takeda family being mentioned in the paper. Apparently the younger son had been badly beaten in what was thought to be a school bullying incident and the family immediately moved out. The beating was bad enough to warrant hospitalisation, but the rest of the details are pretty sparse as it involved minors."

He paused to take a sip of tea and grimaced. It had gone lukewarm while he was giving his report.

"As for the incidents in this area..." Yasuhara continued. "Oddly enough, I found that every house on this road has been mentioned in the paper as being the site of a break-in, assault, vandalism, something. As I said, I've only managed to go back several years so far, but there seems to have been quite a number of minor incidents as well as a remarkable number of more serious crimes in this neighbourhood. I wasn't sure if this was significant, but it seemed strange for this area to be mentioned so often. Here's a list of what I've been able to find so far as well as copies of the newspaper articles," Yasuhara said as he handed Naru a sizeable stack of papers. "The first page is a time line of all the different incidents that have occurred in this area so far."

Naru nodded as he took the stack of papers. He glanced at Mai. "Mai?"

"Umm... well, there aren't exactly many people living in this area," she started. "but I spoke to as many people living on this road as I could. There are six houses on the road between here and the next major intersection towards Yodo. No one was home for two of them. As for the remaining four, the Matsuda family lives in the house closest to here – maybe five minutes walk away. They've only been living in the area for about two years and the mother didn't know about any rumours about this house. She did say that the Nishimuras kept to themselves a lot but that they seemed like a nice elderly couple. They have a young girl, but she wasn't home when I visited," Mai said. "The Ikeda family lives further up the street, maybe another five to ten minutes beyond the Matsudas. Apparently they've been living in the area for around four or five years. They have a son but he wasn't home today either. Come to think of it, he might've had school today. Anyhow, the wife said that she hadn't heard anything concerning this house about hauntings, but was aware of the murders that occurred here. She also mentioned that she used to live in this area as a kid and that she and her friends used to believe or pretend that one of the other houses here was haunted. She couldn't remember which house it was as it was some time ago; perhaps 30 years ago or more."

Mai paused, frowning slightly. "As for the other two houses, an old woman refused to speak to me and chased me off the property – that was at the Sengoku residence – while the person at the fourth house was just leaving and didn't have time to talk. After that, I continued walking all the way to the station and caught the train to Yawata station. It's a good 45 mins walk from here." Mai said sounding a little tired. "It's probably about the same distance from Yawata station to here. There are four houses on the road between the next intersection and here from that side, but of the houses, one had no one home, one person was too busy to talk to me, and at the third house, the mother was out and their younger son was home alone. I decided against talking to him while his mom was out. However, the boy did tell me that the remaining house, the one closest to here on the Yawata side, is abandoned, so I didn't bother stopping there before coming back as it was starting to get dark out." Mai finished.

Naru nodded. "Hirota-san? Any news from Nakai-san regarding this house?"

Hirota frowned. "Apparently, as Yasuhara-san mentioned, there've been a number of incidents, not only at this house, but in this area in the past few decades. She said that it's been taking so long to work through the files because she's often running into incidents at neighbouring residents. As it is, she's still trying to track down details on one incident, but so far, she's dug up much the same incidents as Yasuhara-san just reported. I believe the other incident she's trying to get details on involves the family before the Nishimuras moved here, but it's taking a bit longer as minors were involved." Hirota paused for a moment considering the files he'd read earlier. "Otherwise, when I was going through the other incidents in this area, I did notice that there have been a number of other violent deaths in this area. I'm not sure how far back Yasuhara-san has managed to get, but at the very least, there's also been a murder-suicide, two other murders, and three suicides that I've been able to find that have happened on this street. These incidents happened in the past maybe ten years, so it may be that I'll find more if I go further back."

Naru looked at Hirota. "At least five murders on this one street in the last three decades?" he asked.

Hirota nodded unhappily. "And from what I read in the files, in the case of each murder, the culprit immediately turned themselves in to the authorities."

"Was there a suicide note left behind at the scene of the murder-suicide incident?" Naru asked curiously.

Hirota frowned. "I don't remember seeing one mentioned, but it may be one was left behind," he said hesitantly. "Are you saying that these other incidents are relevant to this investigation?"

Naru glanced at the stack of copies Yasuhara had given him. "I don't have enough information to determine if it's important or not yet," he said quietly. "However, I do find it unusual that there've been five murders here on a street with eleven houses. This road isn't popular with gangs or drug dealers perchance, is it?"

Hirota shook his head. "There's nothing but small farms and old houses out here."

"What about the search for the missing child? Are there any signs that it's related to the murders in this house?"

Hirota looked unhappy at the question. "Right now, the Kyoto police are treating the disappearance and the murder as two separate incidents rather than all being due to the father. While it's possible the father is refusing to acknowledge responsibility for doing something to his daughter, considering his frank admission of guilt to the other murders, the investigators are considering it less likely and are concentrating on looking for other suspects. As thorough a search as possible was done in the area with searchers concentrating on the fields and ditches as well as any accessible buildings, but no sign of the girl was found. Taniyama-san mentioned that there's an abandoned house along this street, and that place was also said to have been searched. While there were signs that people have occasionally entered the premises, there were no signs of the girl there. Quite frankly, given the length of time she's been missing, I think it's highly probable the girl is dead. In any case, unless the missing girl's disappearance has anything to do with this house or unless she's actually hidden here somewhere, determining her whereabouts and what happened to her is beyond the scope of your investigation."

"I have no problem with that." Naru agreed. "Lin?"

Lin turned away from the monitors he'd been watching. "There have been no signs of unusual activity since we arrived," he reported.

Naru nodded. He gazed at the copies Yasuhara had given him as he considered the next course of action.

"Yasuhara-san, I'd like you to continue investigating this area and find out what other incidents took place here," he said after a long moment.

"Yes sir."

"Mai."

Mai looked at Naru.

"Go out again tomorrow and see if you can catch the people you couldn't talk to today. Also, see if you can convince the woman who chased you away today to talk. I'm rather curious why she did that," he said.

Mai frowned. "I don't think I'll have any more luck with her tomorrow," she said as she considered the incident. "It seemed like she really didn't like the idea of anyone coming up to her house, and she wouldn't even let me say a word before yelling at me to go away."

"Try anyway," Naru said after a moments thought. He glanced at Hirota. "Hirota-san, did the police speak to the neighbours after the latest incident here?"

Hirota frowned. "I presume they did what with the missing child and all, but I don't remember anything specifically being said about it," he said after a moment.

Naru sighed. "Could you ask Nakai-san to check with the investigators if a similar thing happened to them?"

"Alright," Hirota said. "I'll call her and ask her about it."

"Mai, I also want you to go back to those houses where there were children. If you can, try to speak to them about any rumours about spirits or anything else like that in this area. Kids will often remember hearing about things like that while adults will dismiss such rumours and forget about them."

"'Kay," she replied.

Naru nodded. "In that case, let's get back to work. Mai, tea."

Mai sighed slightly as she slowly climbed to her feet and headed for the kitchen. Yasuhara started gathering the cups together when he paused momentarily. He looked mildly amused as he finished cleaning up the tea things before followed Mai out with the tray.

* * *

In the kitchen, Yasuhara got started preparing the evening meal while Mai put some water on to make tea. 

"So, what's on the menu today, Yasuhara-san?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I'm not as good a cook as Matsuzaki-san, so we'll have to make do with some rice balls and miso soup," he answered apologetically.

"Hmm... I guess it's at times like this that I miss having Ayako when on an investigation. She's such a great 'Mom' and makes sure we're all well fed," Mai said laughing slightly. "Aa! Don't tell her I said that though. If she heard that, she'd probably yell and make a lot of noise."

Yasuhara laughed. "Don't worry, I won't tell. I agree, she can be pretty loud when she's angry."

"By the way, Yasuhara-san. Were there really that many incidents throughout this area over the past several years? Walking around here, you really wouldn't expect much. It's so quiet," Mai asked curiously.

"Umm... well, I have to admit that the entire area's crime rate isn't so much higher that it really sticks out, especially when you consider that the race track's in the area and all. But when you look at where all the crimes occurred, you start to wonder a little," Yasuhara replied with a slight frown. "Yes there's a bit more crime out towards the track, and yes, this area isn't exactly what you'd call upper class or anything, but there does seem to be a major cluster of incidents in this part of the community. I noticed it because I was looking specifically for cases involving this house, but ended up running into things that happened nearby. It might be interesting to map out where all the crimes occurred actually."

"Maybe," Mai agreed. "But... um, say there was something otherly involved in all these crimes though. How are we supposed to figure out where it's all happening? I mean, it doesn't really seem like this house is the cause, does it?"

Yasuhara nodded as he started chopping some vegetables for miso soup. "It could be rather difficult unless we actually managed to find something in common among all the perpetrators... or maybe all the victims. But I can't see us getting permission to talk to them. I really don't think it's our job either. It's what Hirota-san and Nakai-san should be doing if they're being loaned out by Tokyo's Zero Squad."

"Yeah... Still, it's a bit scary to think that something out there's making people do things like kill," Mai said looking troubled. "When a spirit possesses someone, can it really make them do something like that if the person really didn't want to?"

Yasuhara cocked his head slightly as he smiled at Mai. "Remember how Sekiguchi's spirit affected the Sasakuras in the last case. The Sasakuras seemed pretty intent on killing everyone in the Agawa home that night."

Mai frowned. "Tr...ue...," she agreed slowly. "But that seemed to be more... specific, I guess. I mean _kosori_ – Sekiguchi's spirit – only really became so violent because Hirota-san asked Midori-san if she wanted to press charges which put a lot of pressure on the Sasakuras. And that pressure overlapped with the pressure Sekiguchi's spirit felt when he was cornered by... who was it? the Kawanabes? Anyhow, it was Sekiguchi's spirit that caused the Sasakuras to act that way because all the conditions from when he and his wife killed the Kawanabe family happened to be in place. The Sasakuras feared the Agawas would press charges even though Midori-san said she wouldn't compared to the Sekiguchis having been driven into a corner by the Kawanabes threatening to sue unless they rebuilt their outer wall since it was accidentally built on their property by the developer. Combine that with both incidents happening at the same time – in the days leading up to the anniversary of the Sekiguchis killing the Kawanabes – it made sense that Sekiguchi's spirit could make the Sasakuras attack the Agawas in trying to succeed at that fateful night so many years ago. But do we have that sort of similarity this time? I mean, Hirota-san said there was a murder-suicide and a lot of the cases you mentioned were beatings and stuff right? Even some instances of property damage. But that's quite the range in scale, isn't it?"

"No one has said that a spirit was involved in the incidents in the area yet either, Taniyama-san," a cold voice said from the kitchen entrance.

"Aa," Mai couldn't help exclaiming slightly in surprise at Naru's voice. She turned slowly to see him leaning against the door jamb.

"I thought I asked for tea," he said coolly.

"S-sorry," Mai said as she looked at the tea pot. The tea had steeped for so long she was sure it was completely undrinkable. "I-I'll... make a new pot right away." Mai looked down afraid of the contempt she would see in his eyes over screwing up something as basic as making tea.

She heard Naru sigh quietly before he left the kitchen.

"Taniyama-san," Yasuhara called her name when she didn't move for a long time. "Don't worry about it. He wasn't angry with you or anything," he said gently.

Mai shook her head. "But you could hear in his voice exactly what he thought," she said refusing to look up.

"Taniyama-san," Yasuhara said more firmly. "If you don't take him his tea soon, he might come back again. And you can bet you'll have more than just his tone of voice to worry about if that happens."

"...Yeah."

Yasuhara gazed at Mai. "...If you don't snap out of it soon, I'll start throwing rice balls at you... or at least once the rice finishes cooking," Yasuhara amended. "And then where will we be? We'll have to clean up the kitchen, and we won't have anything to eat either. Not to mention, you still won't have made him his tea. Do you really want to find out what he'd say if he discovered a sticky ricey mess and no tea in here?"

Mai finally glanced up at Yasuhara. She had a strange expression on her face. "Y-yasuhara-san..."

"What is it, Taniyama-san?" he asked smiling innocently.

Mai blinked then slowly shook her head. "...Never mind," she said finally before setting about remaking the tea.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It was mid-morning by the time Mai set out the next day to speak with the various residents living nearby. She decided to follow the same route as she had the day before and started to walk down the road towards Yodo station. The air was cool and fairly dry, but the lack of traffic and the dead vegetation gave the area a desolate feel. Shaking her head sharply, she continued down the road until she reached the Matsuda residence again.

She knocked on the door and was soon greeted by the woman she'd met the day before.

"Ah, hi," Mai said smiling to the mother. "I spoke with you yesterday about um... about this area."

The woman nodded slowly. She looked a bit wary about having Mai appear again on her doorstep.

"Um... I was wondering if it would be alright for me to ask your daughter the same things I asked you yesterday," Mai said. "My boss wanted to find out if there might be any rumours about the area going around among the kids as they sometimes hear and talk about things that adults might not be aware of."

The woman hesitated slightly before agreeing and letting Mai into the entranceway. She called her daughter Emiko to the front entrance and introduced her to Mai.

Emiko was a cute, albeit shy, five-year-old child with her hair tied up in little pig tails. She clung to her mother's pant leg as Mai knelt before her.

"Emi-chan, I was wondering if you heard anything from your friends about any scary places that you should stay away from in this area," Mai said carefully. She didn't want to scare the child, but she wasn't quite sure how to word her question.

Emiko cocked her head slightly. "Scary places?" she asked.

"Yeah. Umm... maybe a monster lives there or a scary ghost?" Mai explained.

"Umm... the big kids sometimes tell us little kids not to go near the old house down the road. The one that's got no one living in it," she said slowly.

"Did they say why?" Mai asked.

Emiko shook her head. "No. Just that it's a bad place and bad things happen if you go there. You're not going to go there, are you?" she asked wide-eyed.

"Umm..."

"You can't! The big kids said that if you go, bad things will happen. I bet something bad happened to Ai-chan 'cause she liked playing over there," Emiko said.

"'Ai-chan'?" Mai asked.

Emiko nodded. "She said her mom and dad and her were visiting her grandma and grandpa and that they were going to go see the maple leaves in the mountains. But something happened at her grandma and grandpa's place and I haven't seen her since."

Emiko had a serious expression on her face. "I told her not to go there because it was a bad place, but she wouldn't listen to me. She said she was bigger 'n me so she didn't have to listen to what I said."

Mai smiled at Emiko and pat her on the head. "I'm not planning on going there yet," Mai said reassuring the child. "I want to talk to everyone in the area first."

Emiko looked relieved at Mai's comment and Mai couldn't help patting her on the head again.

"You really helped me," Mai told her. "Thanks!"

Emiko smiled shyly up at Mai as Mai got back to her feet. Mai thanked Emiko's mother and after one last smile to her daughter, left the house.

Mai jotted down some quick notes from her chat with Emiko before continuing down the road. Remembering the woman who'd chased her off the day before without letting her say a word in edgewise, she wondered if she should've asked Emiko's mother about the woman and if she was like that with everyone, but it was too late now.

She found no one home at the second house again just like yesterday and wondered if the people who lived there were either away or if they worked on weekends. Shaking her head, Mai continued down the road to where the Ikedas lived. She remembered the mother mentioning that she used to live in the area some time ago as well and that she mentioned thinking or pretending that one of the places was haunted. However, the impression she'd gotten from Emiko was of something definitely being bad.

As with the Matsuda house, Mai didn't have long to wait after ringing the bell before someone answered the door at the Ikeda house. The woman who answered the door looked a bit surprised to see Mai again but let her in readily.

"I'm sorry to bother you again like this," Mai said apologetically, "but I was wondering if I could ask your son the same questions I asked you yesterday."

Mrs. Ikeda smiled. "Actually, I was thinking about your question yesterday. I'll go get my son, if you could wait a moment." Mrs. Ikeda disappeared into the upstairs of the house for a few moments. When she came back down, she had her ten-year-old son in tow behind her.

"This is my son, Yoshiaki," she said.

Mai smiled at the boy. "Hi, Yoshi-kun. I'm Taniyama Mai. I was talking to your mom yesterday about something, but she said she didn't know, so I was wondering if maybe you might've heard something," Mai said. "I was wondering if there are any places in this neighbourhood that the other kids told you to stay away from or that were bad places."

Yoshi had a strange look on his face as he looked at Mai. "What sort of 'bad places'?" he asked.

Mai blinked in surprise. "Umm... I'm not really sure. A place that's haunted or cursed or something?"

Yoshi frowned. "I thought adults didn't believe in those sorts of things," he said belligerently.

Mai smiled. "Yeah. A lot of them don't," she admitted. "But my boss is a bit different from them, so I'm trying to find out about those sorts of strange places in the area."

Yoshi stared at Mai for a long moment before relenting. "When we first moved here, a bunch of kids at school told me to stay away from the empty place down the road," he admitted. "I've never been there because it's a bit far and none of my friends live that way."

"Did they say anything else about why you should stay away from there?" Mai asked curiously.

Yoshi shook his head. "Not really. Just that bad things happen if you go there. Eh? Bad things happen? ...Or that you do bad things? ...I don't really remember, but I thought you had to go there alone, too," he shrugged.

"Bad things happen or you do bad things if you go there alone?" Mai asked cocking her head slightly. "Thanks Yoshi-kun. You really helped me a lot."

Yoshi looked up at his mother who was standing behind him. "Can I go now? I want to get back to my game," he said.

Mrs. Ikeda nodded and shooed him back to his game. "I guess he's talking about the abandoned farm close to where the Nishimuras live... lived," she said. "That might be the place I was talking about yesterday when I told you that my friends and I used to believe or pretend a place was haunted because it was abandoned and fairly run down," she said. "I was thinking about it last night actually. Back then, I guess it was when I was in elementary or maybe junior high school, I don't think we really took it seriously and we used to always go exploring in the area."

Mrs. Ikeda got a distant look on her face as memories from her childhood came back to her. "Come to think of it, I think we used to have fun and play around in that house a lot, too," she said thinking back on the memories fondly. "Ah! Yeah, I'm pretty sure we were pretending it was haunted and not that there were any actual rumours. I can't remember who lived there, but I remember my mom telling me that someone died in the hospital once and not really knowing who she was talking about. I think my friends and I tried to summon that person's dead spirit and stuff since we figured it was about as haunted as any place we knew of would get."

The woman laughed slightly. "That sure was a long time ago."

Mai frowned slightly. "You tried summoning a dead spirit?"

The woman nodded smiling. "You know how it is when you're that age. Kids do things like Kokkuri-san, hold seances and try to summon dead spirits, tell ghost stories in scary places... that sort of stuff. I remember doing things like that there when I was a kid." Mrs. Ikeda laughed again. "I remember doing those sorts of things quite often actually, but nothing ever happened. We were just playing really."

Mai scarcely remembered thanking the woman before leaving the house as she continued to walk down the road. The woman's casual comment, 'I remember doing things like that there when I was a kid' echoed in her mind. She shook her head slightly. _'I remembering doing something similar at school when I met Naru,'_ she thought slowly to herself. She and her friends, Keiko, Michiru, and Yuuri, were telling ghost stories in the A/V room when Naru interrupted them. Back then, telling ghost stories and doing Kokkuri-san were fun and harmless pastimes. Now...

_'Kokkuri-san can call up some real nasties.'_ Bou-san had said when they were investigating Yasuhara's high school. But just doing Kokkuri-san shouldn't have been so bad. Yasuhara's school was an exceptional case as the area happened to be spiritual closed off such that any spirits that were called in were unable to escape and ended up devouring one another to be used in a curse meant to kill one of the teachers.

Mai stared at the area around her. Kyoto – the capital of capitals. Compared to Tokyo – the Eastern capital – Kyoto was renowned for its history and culture. So many historically significant things had happened in and around Kyoto that it was just about impossible to dig anywhere in the area without coming across some sort of artefact. And even if you went around Kyoto and saw a new temple or shrine every day for a year, you still wouldn't be able to see all of them.

Mai knew that there was a major shrine on top of the mountain next to Yawata station, and the remnants of a castle stood next to Yodo station. However, she couldn't remember if there was anything truly significant about the area itself. Certainly she didn't remember anything happening in the area, and the area around the road she was walking on didn't seem any different from any other lightly populated rural area. _'I guess I can ask Yasuhara-san if there's anything historically significant about this area later. But for all that whatever's happening here seems to be affecting the entire area, I just don't think it's some ancient curse or anything,'_ she thought.

Mai quickly jotted some short notes in her notebook before continuing down to the next house. It wasn't until she reached the doorway to the next house that she realised she forgot to ask Mrs. Ikeda about the woman who'd chased her off the day before. Mai sighed in resignation and steeled herself to ring the bell at the Sengoku residence, where the strange woman lived.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Yasuhara sat at a computer terminal at the main library in Kyoto going through newspaper and magazine articles about crimes in Yodo. He'd been there for a number of hours continuing with the work Naru had ordered him to do. Yasuhara frowned slightly. He thought he'd found a pattern, but the more he looked, the less it was holding together.

He sighed as he glanced at his watch; it was 2:30 P.M. _'I wonder if Hirota-san and Nakai-san have had any better luck with this. At least they have full access to police records,' _he thought ruefully.

Stretching in his chair, he started a new search again and decided he'd give himself up to another hour before calling it a day. As much as he wanted to continue with the search he'd been doing, he had a feeling his new search might reveal something relevant. He quickly straightened up as the information he requested started scrolling across his screen. Skimming through the information, he soon hit the print button and started to gather his things together. It would take a few minutes for everything to print out, but he decided it would be best to report to Naru as soon as possible.

* * *

It was almost an hour and a half later by the time Yasuhara entered the base. "I'm back," he said as he glanced around the room; Mai and Hirota were both still out. 

"Ah Shochou, did you want me to make some tea?" he asked.

Naru shook his head. "What did you find out?"

Yasuhara pulled out his notebook and sat down at the table. "Something a bit unexpected," he said. "First, these are copies of the various incidents that have happened on this street in the past 30 or so years."

Naru looked up in surprise. "You managed to go back 30 years already?"

Yasuhara laughed. "Ah, I enlisted the help of a university student who happened to be at the library, much like I did when looking into the history of the Yoshimi family several months ago. Along with Taniyama-san, the Shounen Tanteidan now has three members," he declared proudly.

Naru exhaled slightly. "And I assume you've found something significant in those 30 years of incidents?"

"Yes and no," Yasuhara said quickly becoming serious again. "What I found was that the various incidents started happening on this road around 30 years ago and that there were very few things happening here before that."

Yasuhara flipped through a few pages of his notebook. "Several months before Yoshimura killed his wife back in 1976, there were a couple of vandalism cases in this area. There was also an incident where a youth attacked his mother with a hammer. Details of the attack and where it took place are a bit sparse, so hopefully Hirota-san will be able to fill in any relevant details on that later." Yasuhara paused briefly. "However, when I tried to find anything that happened before that, the only thing I found was a break-in seven years earlier."

Naru looked at Yasuhara. "Seven years?"

Yasuhara nodded. "Seven years went by between the break-in and the first vandalism case at..." Yasuhara checked his notes. "At the Sengoku household. And after that vandalism, it seems like something's been happening in this area every few months or so."

Naru frowned. "Did you find anything else relevant around that period that might give us a clue as to what caused the sudden increase in crime in this area?"

Yasuhara shook his head. "Nothing. This area wasn't mentioned in the paper at all between the time of the break-in and the first vandalism I mentioned."

Naru drummed his fingers on the table lost in thought. "In that case, this is really much more something for Hirota-san and the police to handle. There've been no signs of paranormal activity happening in this house at all since we arrived, so we have no way of figuring out what might be the cause at this point. There are too many unknowns. All we have are a series of crime reports in the local paper, and that's not enough to go on," he said. "We'll wait for Mai's report before deciding our next step, but I'm inclined to pack up and go and let Hirota-san figure things out on his own. This trip has been nothing but a waste of time."

Yasuhara chuckled slightly. "At least you managed to rescue Taniyama-san from her kidnapper," he said amused.

Naru just shook his head as he started reading through the copies Yasuhara had made for him.

* * *

It was almost 5:00 P.M. when the front door open again. Yasuhara was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner while Naru and Lin were in the base. Naru glanced at the monitor and saw Mai standing unmoving in the doorway, almost as though lost in thought. He sighed as he climbed to his feet and went out into the hallway. 

"Mai," he said as he paced towards where she was standing. She hadn't taken off her shoes and stared at a point on the floor with her hands clenched. Naru could see she was shaking.

"Mai, what's wrong?" he asked as he reached the entrance. He stretched a hand out to touch her when she finally looked up.

Naru froze at the look of glazed emptiness he saw in Mai's eyes. He felt his eyes widen slightly as he watched her raise her hand almost as though in slow motion when he felt a sudden sharp, stinging sensation. An instant later, he saw realisation and awareness come flooding back into Mai's eyes as they widened in shock. But before he could reach out and grab her arm, Mai turned around, shoved open the door, and fled from the house.

Yasuhara and Lin came running out into the hall as the sharp sound of Mai slapping Naru echoed throughout the house. Lin had seen the altercation on the monitors, but Yasuhara had only been vaguely aware that Mai had returned.

Naru stood rooted to the spot, stunned, as he stared at the empty doorway.

"Naru, what happened? Where's Taniyama-san?" Lin asked sharply.

Naru's head jerked up as he realised what had just happened. "Yasuhara-san! Go after her!" he snapped. "She won't have gone far!"

"Yes sir!" Yasuhara said as he slipped his shoes on and ran out the door.

Naru winced slightly as he touched his stinging cheek. Mai hadn't held back when she slapped him. He could only be thankful that she hadn't punched him as he remembered how she'd stood with her fists clenched when he first came out into the hallway. Naru disappeared further into the house leaving Lin standing alone in the entranceway.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Outside, Yasuhara glanced around the yard for a moment before noticing a small figure crouched at the base of the cherry tree that had been planted in one corner of the property.

"Taniyama-san," he called her name softly as he carefully approached her. He gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he knelt on the ground beside her. He could feel she was shaking very badly.

"Taniyama-san, are you alright?" he asked quietly.

Mai shook her head. Yasuhara could feel her struggling to fight back her tears.

Mai felt his arms wrap themselves around her holding her tight and she could no longer hold herself together. She clung to Yasuhara sobbing, shocked at what she'd done.

* * *

It took several minutes before Mai finally managed to stop crying. She clung weakly to Yasuhara as she tried to get her breathing under control. 

"I... I'm sorry, Yasuhara-san," she stammered. "I..."

Yasuhara patted her on the back, but didn't let her go yet. He peered into her face wiping her tears away gently.

"I... I'm okay now," Mai said weakly. "Really."

Yasuhara chuckled softly, but he still didn't let go. He felt Mai struggle a little in his arms.

"Y-yasuhara-san..."

"Shall we go in then?" he asked.

Mai stiffened in his arms. "...I-I don't think I'm ready to go inside yet," she admitted quietly.

"In that case, I'm not letting go," he said.

"Yasuhara-san!" Mai exclaimed.

He chuckled, "I'm sorry, Taniyama-san, but it's cold outside. So I'm not letting go unless you're ready to go inside."

Yasuhara could almost feel Mai go hot as she blushed furiously. She wasn't ready to go inside, but she wasn't entirely comfortable with her current situation either. However, she soon relaxed in his arms again.

"...I heard a voice in my head," she said softly. "It kept telling me over and over and over again to... to do things." Mai shivered. "It wouldn't shut up and wanted me... it told me to... to use the _kuji_ against Gene... and to hurt Naru. I kept telling myself I didn't want to do that, that it wasn't me. It wasn't what I wanted to do. But it wouldn't stop... it _didn't_ stop until I actually... hit him."

"Taniyama-san."

"I couldn't stop myself," Mai cried as she clung to Yasuhara. "What if I'd met Gene first and ended up using the _kuji_ against him? What if I can't control myself the next time I see him?? Yasuhara-san..."

Yasuhara held Mai tightly as she cried quietly in his arms.

* * *

It was several more minutes before Mai got control of herself again. Yasuhara pulled her to her feet and led her back into the house and into the base. He was surprised to see that Lin was alone in the base and that neither Naru nor Hirota was there. Mai obediently followed Yasuhara's direction and sat at the low table in the base, but she wouldn't look up. She hugged herself tightly. 

A few minutes later, she saw a pale hand place a cup beside her. She could smell honey and lemon and looked up in surprise. Naru's dark eyes watched her carefully as she reached out a shaky hand and picked up the cup. She barely managed to choke out a thank you as he sat down at the table.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

"Eh?" Mai asked confused.

"It was and wasn't you in the hallway there," Naru said quietly. "What happened?"

Yasuhara opened his mouth to tell Naru what Mai had told him outside, but stopped when Naru shook his head slightly stopping him.

"Mai," he said quietly.

Mai stared at the honey lemon drink Naru made for her. "I... hit you," she finally said.

"I'm quite aware of that," Naru replied patiently. "Why?"

Mai trembled but shook her head. "It... doesn't matter, does it? I did it. Making excuses isn't going to change things."

Naru gazed at Mai for a long moment then let out a long sigh. "What did you find out while you were out?" he asked finally.

"Eh? Mai looked up at him surprised. She was taken completely off-guard by his question. "Ah, um..."

Mai fumbled as she struggled to pull out her notebook and get her thoughts in order. "Um, I decided to go the same route as I took yesterday," she began. "I spoke with the Matsudas' daughter and she told me that the older kids told her to stay away from the abandoned house down here. According to Emi-chan, bad things happen if you go there. She also said that she told the same thing to Ai-chan but that Ai-chan wouldn't listen to her because Emi-chan was younger than she was. Oh, and Emi-chan told me not to go there, too, so I guess she was pretty freaked out about the place."

Mai flipped to the next page in her book as she continued her report. "No one was at the second house today either, so I went on to the Ikeda residence. When I spoke to Ikeda Yoshi-kun, I got a slightly different story about going to the abandoned house... or rather a more confused story. Apparently, when his family first moved to the area, the other kids in the area told him not to go there, and he said that since none of his friends lived down here, he hasn't bothered. However, he couldn't remember if bad things were supposed to happen if you went, or if you were supposed to do bad things if you went. The other thing he mentioned was that this was only supposed to happen if you went alone."

Mai paused taking a sip of her drink and blinked. She was surprised at how good it was with the perfect balance between sweet and tart. She quickly forced her mind back to her report however. "Um, after speaking to Yoshi-kun, his mother mentioned that the abandoned house might be the one she and her friends used to pretend was haunted. Talking to her about it today, she seemed pretty sure it was them pretending the place was haunted and not that there were actual rumours about that being the case."

Mai frowned slightly as she remembered her conversation with Mrs. Ikeda. It was the sort of things kids would often do unthinkingly, but at the same time, Mai was no longer sure they were such harmless pastimes either. She realised she hesitated a bit too long when a familiar tenor said her name bringing her back to herself.

"Mai," Naru prompted.

Mai blinked slightly. "Sorry, um... Mrs. Ikeda told me that she and her friends often played at the abandoned house and that they told ghost stories and did seances and stuff there. She also added that really they were just playing around and that nothing ever happened when they did so."

Mai shook her head slightly. "Umm... next I tried to do as you told me and talk to Mrs. Sengoku. The woman who ran me off her property yesterday..."

Mai grimaced. "She must've seen me coming up the walkway. I didn't even get to ring the bell when she opened the door, threw a piece of paper at me, and slammed the door shut again. I even heard her lock the door before I realised what exactly had happened."

Mai pulled the piece of paper out from where it was sandwiched in her notebook and laid it out on the table. The words "GO AWAY!" were written in very large letters on the paper.

Mai sighed. "I didn't have much luck at the other two houses on that side either. One house, I'm sure the people were home, but they refused to answer the door for some reason, while at the last house, the man living there told me he was too busy to talk to me about such foolish things as rumours of hauntings," she said shrugging.

"I then took the train down to Yawata again and repeated the same on the way back. At the first residence, I ran into a slightly older family and the mother and father told me that they didn't know of any rumours in the area. Their teenage son however, told me that the house was quite well known among students. According to Takagi Shoichi, the house is occasionally used for dare games among high schoolers even though that's typically a thing younger kids do. However, there're supposed to be a number of rumours about playing that game there. One of the stories goes like this: One year, when playing dare, one of the kids went into the house, but disappeared. The kid who disappeared was later found dead in a storehouse or something nearby. Someone had beaten him to death with a kendo sword that was found next to the body. There's a variation to this story where the kid goes to the house on a dare, but when he comes back, he starts attacking his friends with a kendo sword."

Mai checked her notes before continuing. "According to Shoichi, there's also a rumour that a boy and girl who were going out together decided to meet up and check out the place late at night. But when the girl got there, the boy attacked her and raped her. Those were all the rumours he said he could remember," she said quietly.

"The second house was the one that was empty yesterday. An old woman lives there and apparently has been living there for many years. Unfortunately, she's also mostly senile, and her son doesn't spend much time with her. I tried to talk to the woman, but she didn't respond to me at all. Her son said he was too busy to speak to me and that he didn't have time for such things as rumours and such. He did however say that he wished the police would get their act together and do something about all the crime in the area. He said he was sure that many more things were happening in the area but they were going unreported for whatever reason, and that people were trying to weasel out of taking responsibility for their own actions. And since the police were so lax in doing their job, they were getting away with it, too." Mai grimaced as she shrugged. She'd had to listen to him go on a tirade for a good fifteen minutes about what he thought of the police service. Quite a long time for being "too busy".

"And at the last house, the one with the boy yesterday..." Mai's expression was somewhat mixed as she continued her report. "Apparently both parents were out shopping, but this time the older brother was home too, so I spoke to the two of them. The younger boy told me much like Yoshi-kun and Emi-chan did, that he was told by the other kids at school not to go to the abandoned house on this street, but he couldn't tell me much more.

Mai paused, frowning. "When I left that house, the older brother, Keichi-kun, came out and talked to me about the house. He told me that he sometimes went and explored in and around the house and that there wasn't anything there. He also said that he figured the senior high school kids might be doing stuff like sneaking drinks out there since it's abandoned and all. He said he finds beer and sake bottles and cans there all the time and that he thought the high school students were telling the younger kids these things in order to keep them away. He told me I should take a look since it wasn't that far and that I'd see that it was like he said," Mai concluded.

Naru sighed. "And did you go there?" he asked quietly.

Mai blinked glancing up; Naru was gazing steadily at her.

"Umm, yeah," she admitted. "By that time, I wasn't sure what to believe. And since that kid said he'd been there a number of times on his own, Emi-chan told me Ai-chan was playing around the house all the time, and Mrs. Ikeda said she and her friends were always pretending the place was haunted but that it really wasn't, I thought I'd take a quick peek. Besides, it was still light out, so I figured it shouldn't be too risky."

Mai frowned as she tried to remember the house. "The area around the house is pretty badly overgrown since no one's been living there for so long. But since it's getting close to winter, a lot of the undergrowth has died so, umm... yeah. I did find some litter there."

Her frown deepened as she struggled to remember the details of the house and the surroundings in greater details. "The front door of the house was locked so I wandered around the house a bit. The wooden doors were all closed, but there was a small back door almost hidden in one corner of the house and it was unlocked." Mai fell silent again.

"It was kind of creepy inside, but... I guess that's to be expected since it's been abandoned for so long," she shrugged. "And since it was so dark and gloomy, and I didn't have a flashlight on me, I didn't really want to go in any further to explore. Otherwise, I noticed it was really dusty and I ended up getting a bit of a headache because of that."

Mai hesitated again before shaking her head. "There's not much else I can tell you about that place," she said finally.

Naru looked at her steadily. "What did you do next?" he asked.

Mai cocked her head thinking hard. "I don't... umm, I remember thinking it felt a bit cold in there... and wondering if maybe it was later than I thought and that I should get back here." Mai shook her head. "That's about it I think."

"Is that when you started hearing the voice in your head, Taniyama-san?"

Mai cocked her head slightly at Yasuhara's question lost in thought. "I think so... Umm... no. That started once I went outside again," she said finally.

She looked up and glared at Naru after hearing him sigh heavily. "What?!"

Naru looked down at her. "And what was this voice you heard, Taniyama-san?"

"Aa."

Mai started to turn to glare at Yasuhara when Naru's voice rang out again. "Mai!"

Mai shrank back at Naru's tone. He wanted an explanation and he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Mai looked down at the table. "After I left the house, I started hearing a voice in my head telling me to do things. It wouldn't shut up. So I tried to take a bit of a walk around this place to try to clear my mind, but it just kept going on and on taunting me and goading me..."

Mai closed her eyes as she clenched her fists. "I remember it constantly jabbering in my mind and not shutting up and just when I thought it fell quiet... that's when I..." Mai shook her head slightly. "I don't know why I didn't stop myself. I should have. I _know_ I should have, but... I didn't."

"Mai, do you have a protective charm on you?" Naru asked quietly.

"Hmm? You mean from Bou-san or Ayako?" she asked. "Umm, I should..."

Mai put her hand on her upper chest feeling for the small charm bag she normally wore, especially when she was on a case, but didn't feel anything there. Surprised, she felt around her neck for the string it normally hung on. Mai cocked her head to one side. "... Eh? It's gone??"

She heard Naru sigh but shook her head violently before he could say anything. "I should have one in my jacket, too," she said. "Ayako told me to keep one in there all the time just in case," Mai said as she started to rummage through her jacket pockets. She pulled out the case that held her train pass and pulled out a slip of traditional Japanese rice paper. While it was folded, the shadow of the stylistic characters found on protective charms could barely be made out through the paper.

Naru took the paper from Mai unfolding it when half of the charm fluttered the table.

Mai's eyes widened in surprise. "Eh?!? You're kidding!"

"Mai, when did Matsuzaki-san give this to you?" Naru asked coldly.

"Umm... I don't remember but it was sometime this year. I think she said something about needing to replace them at least every year..."

Naru sighed as he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled something out. He put it on the table and pushed it over towards Mai. Sitting on the table before her was her missing charm bag.

"..." Mai stared at it speechless.

"I found it in the change area to the bath," Naru said.

Mai wilted as she stared at the bag. It was one of the few things she always wore especially when on an investigation. While not all-powerful, the charm should be able to give her a modicum of protection should anything happen. And given Mai's penchant for running after trouble and her inability to effectively protect herself, she needed all the protection she could get.

She heard Naru get to his feet when he rapped her sharply on the head. "Klutz," he said before moving to sit by the monitors.

* * *

Author's Note: The _kuji_ literally "nine words" is a protective spell Mai often uses to fight off spirits. Ayako taught Mai the quick form of the spell: rin pyou tou sha kai djin retsu zai zen 


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

After Mai finished her drink, Yasuhara shooed her off to take a bath with strict instructions to get thoroughly warmed up after having spent the whole day outside in the cold. Naru watched her leave the base before finally turning to glance at Lin.

"Lin, make Mai a new protective charm," he said quietly.

Lin immediately got up from his chair to get the necessary items to make the charm when he paused and turned to look at Naru and Yasuhara. "What about the two of you?"

"I have the one Takigawa-san made for all of us before," Yasuhara answered.

Naru shook his head indicating he didn't need one either.

"Shochou, why didn't you ask Taniyama-san what the voice told her to do?" Yasuhara asked. "Weren't you curious to know exactly what it said?"

Naru cocked his head to one side slightly.

"She said it told her to 'use the_kuji_ against Gene and to hurt you'," Yasuhara said. "I don't think she realised she said it out loud when she told me she vaguely remembered standing in the garage staring at the tools in there telling herself that she didn't want to hurt you and that she didn't want to hurt your older brother. Whatever it was that was trying to get her to do something, it couldn't get her to do anything to seriously harm you, but it did manage to get her to slap you. Perhaps because it was something that Taniyama-san wanted to do at some point? Perhaps recently?" he said pointedly.

Naru looked at Yasuhara sharply. "What are you trying to get at, Yasuhara-san?" he asked coldly.

Yasuhara gave Naru his professional, inscrutable smile. "Why Shibuya-san, why would you think I'm trying to make a point?" he asked innocently. "After all, you're aware of how Taniyama-san feels about being out here right now but insist on saying and doing things that make her feel even more insecure. Ah! Could it be that you actually let her slap you because a tiny part of you somewhere thought that you deserved it?"

Naru refused to answer and stared pointedly at the monitors.

Yasuhara chuckled softly. Given the lack of data that had been gathered so far, he was fairly certain the monitors weren't going to show anything of interest in the Nishimura house. "Just so you know," he said mildly, "right now, Taniyama-san's terrified that whatever got her to slap you will still be able to make her hurt your brother."

Naru sighed. "She's supposed to be professional in her conduct," he said mildly annoyed. "And she said herself that she knew she should've stopped herself."

"Hmm, true," Yasuhara agreed. "But rather than seeing Taniyama-san the professional, right now, I'd rather see Taniyama-san be herself in all senses of the word including impulsively running into danger."

"...In that case, perhaps you would like to save her from herself as well?" Naru said acidly.

"Ahahaha," Yasuhara laughed. "You do a much better job at reading how she'll act and keeping her under control."

Naru shook his head. "I don't think anyone can predict her actions," he said almost as though talking to himself.

"...Taniyama-san hasn't been sleeping much, has she?" Yasuhara asked quietly suddenly changing the subject slightly.

Naru frowned as he glanced at him.

"She didn't want to sleep the first night, I really doubt she got much sleep last night, and with what happened today..." Yasuhara shook his head. "She won't be able to keep this up much longer and it's going to affect her judgement a lot more, too."

* * *

When Mai re-entered the base, she found Naru watching over the monitors alone. She hesitated slightly in the doorway when Naru said, "Mai, tea." 

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, as she automatically responded, "'Kay."

She slipped into the next room, quickly putting away her things. She paused briefly to ensure that she had her charm bag around her neck, before hurrying to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, she found Yasuhara putting the finishing touches on a late night meal for everyone. "Ah, Yasuhara-san, I'm sorry I didn't help out with that at all," she said apologetically.

Yasuhara shook his head. "Not at all, Taniyama-san. Ah, you're making the boss tea?" he asked amused.

"Yeah. He's acting as if nothing happened earlier," she said a bit uncertainly.

Yasuhara chuckled amused. "Taniyama-san, are you aware the he hasn't had anything to drink since late this morning?"

Mai looked surprised. "That's not very likely now, is it, Yasuhara-san? Besides, how would you know that?"

"He and Lin-san have both been busy watching the monitors and reading through the reports," he replied easily. "And since there were no new dishes waiting in the sink since this morning..."

Mai cocked her head slightly as she poured tea for everyone and put the cups on a tray.

"Didn't he have you make tea when you got back?" she asked surprised.

Yasuhara put together a tray with the dinner items on it and they both left the kitchen.

"He didn't want any then" Yasuhara said.

Mai carefully balanced her tray on one arm as she slid the shoji screen open. She then proceeded inside the room and set her tray down on the low table in the base. Yasuhara set his tray down after Mai. His glasses glinted suspiciously as he glanced at Naru.

"And are you aware that he doesn't always drink the tea that I make?" he asked.

Mai took Naru his tea carefully putting it on the table beside him. She then moved to serve Lin-san who had since returned to the base.

Mai cocked her head to one side as she glanced at Yasuhara. "What are you talking about Yasuhara-san? Naru always drinks tea. Except for the first couple of times when the tea I made was literally undrinkable, he's always drunk his tea," she said confused.

Yasuhara chuckled. "Exactly. He's always drunk his tea when you made it," he said. "He didn't drink any of the tea I made yesterday. And that's probably why he came to the kitchen when you didn't bring him his tea right away."

"Eh?" Mai asked surprised. She turned to look at Naru, but he was pointedly ignoring their conversation. "Eh??"

"He deserved being hit for the way he made you feel the past couple of days," Yasuhara said cheerfully, "so consider yourselves even."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Hirota didn't return to the house until late that evening. He looked tired as he walked into the base only to stop suddenly. He stared at Naru's face.

"...Did something happen while I was out?" Hirota asked hesitantly. While faint, there was a thin mark on Naru's cheek where Mai's nail had scratched him.

"Why, Hirota-san, what on earth are you talking about?" Yasuhara asked him cheerfully from a corner of the room. He'd been tutoring Mai in what she was to cover next in math class. "There's been no sign of anything in this house since we got here."

Hirota cocked his head to one side but decided against pursuing the matter further. Naru hadn't deigned to look at Hirota since he first entered the room.

"Ah, I'm fine Taniyama-san, please don't get up on my account," Hirota said stopping Mai as she moved to get up to make tea.

Mai hesitated when Yasuhara tapped her math book. "Taniyama-san," he said sternly, "You're not going to escape this question that easily."

"Yasuhara-san, I don't know what you're talking about," she said with a strained smile as she tried to pretend that she hadn't just tried to escape from studying math. She reluctantly settled back down.

It wasn't until Hirota set his notebook on the table and sat down that Naru looked up from the papers he'd been reading.

"I found out about the Fujii family – the people who lived here before the Nishimuras," Hirota said wearily. "It seems, their youngest son was arrested for attacking his friend with a kendo sword, and his friend ended up with several broken bones and a concussion. There was also a note that the boy eventually admitted to being jealous of his friend because he was the better of the two at kendo."

Naru looked at Hirota steadily. "It took you quite some time just to find that out," he said coolly.

Hirota stiffened slightly as he fought to keep his temper. "The case involved a young offender and it was some time ago, so it took a bit more time. Quite frankly we're lucky any record was left of the incident."

Hirota shook his head slightly. This office's young boss had a way of getting on his nerves, but he also knew that he couldn't win against him. That much had been made all too clear to him during the Agawa case when Naru had answers and plenty of acrimony to spare whenever they exchanged barbs.

"Otherwise, regarding the things you asked about yesterday... I went through the murder-suicide case file and found that no suicide note had been left behind. It looked like a pretty violent and messy murder," Hirota said quietly. "As for the latest murder, the officers said that they spoke to all the neighbours but that one of them refused to open the door or speak to them. However, a couple of area residents warned them that that's how that household's been for a long time, so they shouldn't think too much of it and to contact them by phone if they needed to speak to them. It seems that that woman's attitude wasn't just towards Taniyama-san."

Naru nodded. "In that case, I want you to do some background research on the house across the street next," he said.

Hirota looked surprised. "The house across the street?" he asked confused.

"I believe that's what I just said," Naru said looking slightly annoyed.

"Why do you want to know about that place?!" Hirota asked incredulously. "That place's been abandoned for years."

Naru nodded. "Quite possibly over 30 years," he agreed. "Yasuhara-san will be doing his own check into the house's ownership tomorrow, so if you could try hurrying up this time when you look for any incidents that might have occurred there?"

Hirota exhaled noisily. Why did he have to do what this young man wanted?

"Hirota-san," Naru said impatiently, "I told you we'd do a preliminary investigation of this house and that if it came up negative, I'd be taking my wayward investigator back to Tokyo. You have one day left before the results of that investigation are in. Are you sure you want to be wasting time like this?"

Hirota looked at Naru surprised. He'd forgotten the conditions on the investigation. He also knew that if something didn't catch the SPR's boss's interest soon, he'd be out of luck and the team would leave.

He nodded slowly. "I'll see what I can find out," he said and climbed to his feet. "In which case, I'd better get going. I'll try to get back some time tomorrow afternoon, but I might not be able to make it until the evening."

Naru sighed softly. He wanted to leave Kyoto by tomorrow afternoon so they could get back to Tokyo at a reasonable time, but that wasn't looking very probable.

* * *

Mai sat in the base late that night struggling to stay awake. She didn't trust herself to fall asleep as she was afraid of what might happen – if she might dream, if she might see Gene... And if she saw Gene, she was terrified that whatever had pushed her into slapping Naru might still be inside her and cause her to hurt Gene. Struggling against sleep, she hauled herself to her feet to go to the kitchen to make tea. 

"Mai," Naru said looking at her expressionlessly.

"What?" she asked rubbing her eyes as she looked at Naru.

"...If you're getting up to make tea, I don't want any," he said after a long pause.

"Really?" she asked a bit surprised.

Naru sighed. "Mai, get some sleep."

Mai shook her head. "I can't," she said.

Naru looked at her slightly annoyed. "You mean 'you won't'," he corrected.

"...No, I can't," she said. "I don't know what'll happen if I do, so I can't."

Naru took a deep breath but didn't say anything else.

"...Are you sure you don't want more tea?" she asked hesitantly.

Naru stared at her for a long moment. "...How much tea have you brought me so far tonight?" he asked her.

"Eh? I don't know," Mai answered confused.

"Five cups." Naru said with a sigh. "I'll have you know, I am not a fish, Taniyama-san."

Mai glanced at her watch. It was currently 2:30 A.M. "...Oh," she said as she slowly sank back down to where she'd been sitting on the floor.

_'He's always drunk his tea when you made it.'_

Yasuhara's amused comment from earlier in the evening echoed in Mai's mind. She stared at Naru for a long moment as she realised that, while he stopped her this time, he'd also drunk all his tea each time she'd brought him any that night.

She laughed silently to herself as she leaned against the wall and started reading through the photocopies Yasuhara had made for Naru. She'd finished her homework some time ago – except for the one English assignment she wouldn't let Yasuhara (or Naru) help her with – and definitely wasn't in the mood to fight with her other classes, so she'd settled on reading through whatever case materials there was to read. Since Naru didn't say anything when she started stealing papers from him, she figured he didn't particularly mind.

Lin remained carefully expressionless as he heard Naru's and Mai's conversation behind him. He was surprised Naru was even aware of how much tea Mai had made, but he was even more surprised that his superior had drunk all of it, too.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Normally, I don't write things post-chapter unless it's relevant to the story, but a few questions have come up over the course of the chapters that might be a long time in answering if I waited until the end of the story. So, without further ado...

_ Why does Naru keep calling Mai Taniyama-san?_

Naru calls Mai various things. Most often he uses 'Mai', but sometimes he uses 'Taniyama-san'. He usually switches to 'Taniyama-san' when he's being sarcastic or when he's annoyed with her. The usage varies, but it's almost never done out of politeness.

_I don't understand how the nine words (kuji) can hurt Gene. I mean, don't they just work on evil spirits?_

The _kuji_ is effective against whatever it's directed against, whether it's an evil spirit, a person, or an object. Mai's very weak over all, so when she directs it against a person, they're only minorly injured, but Bou-san or Lin could seriously injure a person if they directed it at a person.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The next morning, Yasuhara left early to go to the ward office to track down what information he could about the abandoned house that seemed to be the focus of the rumours among the kids. Mai looked tired and was a bit unsteady on her feet as she cleaned up the breakfast dishes. It was late morning and she was surprised to find that she did manage to nap a touch during the night, though fitfully. While she hadn't noticed during the night, the dish rack was surprisingly full of tea cups and mugs. She couldn't help smiling as she remembered Naru's sigh as he silently accepted the cup she handed him at some point shortly before Yasuhara got up. Mai couldn't help wondering how many cups of tea she'd made for Naru during the course of the night, but she didn't have the courage to ask him.

Naru entered the kitchen just as she finished doing the dishes. He was wearing a long black rain coat and had his clipboard in his hand.

Mai cocked her head slightly when he looked at her.

"Mai, go get your coat. You and I are going to take a look at that abandoned house you mentioned yesterday," he said. "Make sure you bring a two-way radio from the base."

"Okay," Mai said as she hurried to get her things together to go out.

Lin glanced at her from where he sat in front of the monitors and watched as she grabbed her coat. "Taniyama-san," he said stopping her as she moved to leave the base.

Mai turned in surprise.

Lin held out a slip of Japanese rice paper. She saw the calligraphic brush strokes on the paper and couldn't help smiling as she realised he'd made her a new protective charm to replace the one that she kept with her train pass.

"Thank you, Lin-san," she said in delight.

Lin's expression softened ever so slightly as she carefully put the charm away. "Also..." he said quietly, stopping her again before she left the base.

Mai looked at him inquiringly as he pointed to one of the shelves. Mai turned and looked at the shelf and realised she'd almost left without grabbing the two-way radio Naru had told her to bring with her. She blushed slightly as she thanked Lin again, grabbed a handset, and quickly rushed out of the base.

Naru was waiting for her in the entranceway as she shrugged on her jacket. Naru sighed slightly and rapped her on the head with his clipboard as she slipped the two-way radio into her jacket pocket.

"What?!" she demanded as she rubbed her head.

Naru just gazed at her and she flushed. She realised he'd heard enough of the conversation in the base to realise she'd almost forgotten the two-way radio.

"...Nothing," he said after a long pause before he exited the house.

* * *

A few minutes later, Naru and Mai reached the abandoned house. Naru pulled out the digital thermometer and handed it to Mai. He jotted down the numbers as they proceeded to measure the temperature in certain key locations outside the house. After going around the house once, Naru tried the front door. As Mai had said, it was locked. 

Mai led the way to the back door, but when he tried to open the door, he was surprised to find that it, too, was locked.

"Eh?! You're kidding!" Mai exclaimed as she turned the handle and pulled trying to open the door. It wouldn't budge.

Naru sighed. "Let's check around the house again and see if there are any other ways inside," he said finally.

The two went around testing the storm panels but they were firmly in place. As they circled the house again, they found various snack wrappers and empty drink bottles around the verandah and every now and again, they would run across an empty sake jar, chu hai can, or beer bottle. Still, for being abandoned and without anyone to clean the place up, the litter wasn't all that bad, possibly because it was in such a remote location. They were also surprised to discover that, despite having been abandoned for a long time, none of the windows were broken.

Mai stared at the locked door confused. "I didn't lock it when I left yesterday," she said slowly. "I'm sure I didn't."

She heard Naru sigh again.

"And how would you propose to lock this door when you leave without a key, Taniyama-san?" he asked.

"Eh?" Mai looked at the door. It was like many other doors with a handle that stuck out and ran parallel to the ground. There was no keyhole on the handle itself which meant that the only lock was the deadbolt. She'd turned the handle herself only to find that the door wouldn't open because of that bolt.

"The only ways to keep that door from opening are to lock it either from the inside or with a key, barricade the door shut, or for some force to keep it from opening. As for this..." Naru's voice trailed away as he gazed at the door.

After staring at the door for a few moments longer, he suddenly turned on his heel and strode back towards the road. Surprised, Mai quickly trotted after him.

Naru paused at the walkway to the Nishimuras' house. "Mai, check and see if anyone's home at the house that was empty for the past two days," he said. "If they're home, see what they have to say about this area and any rumours they might've heard."

"Okay," Mai said as she turned to continue down the road. Naru watched her briefly before turning towards the Nishimura residence.

* * *

It was almost 4 P.M. by the time Yasuhara returned to the base. He paused the moment he stepped inside. Unlike the other times he'd been in the room, and despite the heat being on, the temperature inside felt like it was well below the freezing point. Yasuhara cocked his head to one side as he glanced about the room. Lin was sitting as he had been for most of the past few days watching over the monitors and working at the computer, while Naru was sitting at the low table flipping through the case file and various copies Yasuhara had given him. 

"I'm... back..." he said a little uncertainly. "Ah, Lin-san, where's Taniyama-san?"

The instant he asked that question, he felt the temperature in the room fall another couple of degrees. _'I swear, I should investigate the strange temperature anomalies that seem to occur around the boss when he's in a bad mood,'_ he thought to himself idly.

Lin sighed inaudibly and glanced at Naru. "She went out to check on one of the houses in the area, but hasn't returned."

Yasuhara frowned slightly. "How long has she been gone?" he asked.

"...Over two hours, without checking in," he replied.

"That idiot. Doesn't she even know how to check in properly?" Naru muttered. "She knows we're going to pack things up once the final results are in today."

Yasuhara glanced at Lin. Lin shrugged slightly in response.

"Maybe she's still talking to whoever lives there?" Yasuhara suggested.

Naru looked at Yasuhara and asked, "How likely do you think it is for Mai to stay for over two hours at one house when inquiring about rumours in the area? Especially one where the occupant has been away for the past couple of days and is likely to be quite busy?"

Yasuhara considered the other possibilities. "It could be that she forgot to check in and decided to go around to all the houses she missed over the past few days," he suggested. "Or... maybe not." he said taking back his speculation.

Naru shook his head. "It's unlikely she'd miss reporting in multiply, and she definitely should've remembered to report in if she was planning on being out for an extended period." Naru sighed. "What did you find out, Yasuhara-san?"

"Ah, I went back to the ward office in Fushimi today. It's a good thing today's Monday. I wouldn't have been able to look things up if it were still the weekend," he said. "In any case, the last family to live in the abandoned house was the Sakamotos. They lived in the house for over 25 years. I looked up the family registry and found out that an old couple was living in the house when the husband died 37 years ago. I then searched for any other information about the wife in both the newspapers and in the community flyers when I found this." Yasuhara handed Naru a single photocopy. On it was a short obituary for Sakamoto Mayuko. She'd apparently passed away at the hospital after battling cancer for several months over 33 years ago.

Naru frowned. "What about previous owners?" he asked.

Yasuhara shook his head. "The house used to be owned by the Ishida family and was taken over by the Sakamotos when the younger son of the Ishida family married the eldest daughter of the Sakamoto family. Because the Sakamotos didn't have any sons, the younger son took his wife's name."

Yasuhara shrugged. "Essentially, that house has always been in the hands of one bloodline," he said.

Naru nodded. "In that case, we'll wait and see what Hirota-san has to say regarding any unusual incidents that may have happened while the Ishidas and Sakamotos lived there."

* * *

It was half an hour later when a tired and unkempt looking Hirota and Nakai Saki arrived at the base. Hirota glanced around slightly when he felt the chill atmosphere that seemed to be swirling about the base but decided against saying anything. Having already spent a number of days with the SPR members on the Agawa case, he'd already experienced the unusual chill that seemed to emanate from their boss when he was in a bad mood. 

Nakai looked a bit confused at the tension, but decided to ignore it. "I'm very glad to see you again, Dr. Davis," she said with a smile.

Naru ignored her greeting and looked at Hirota. "I trust you have the information I asked you to look up," he said coldly.

Hirota nodded. "Nakai has all the information regarding this house," he commented before launching into his own report. "Otherwise, I went through the files looking for any incidents at the abandoned house across the street. You didn't exactly indicate what time frame you were interested in, so I concentrated around the time the house became vacant and earlier."

Hirota cleared his throat and flipped through his notes briefly before looking up. "There's nothing," he said simply.

Naru frowned, but before he could say anything biting, Hirota held up his hands. "I went through the files quite a ways from that time and earlier," he said. "But very little has ever happened at that house."

"The house became abandoned when the woman who lived there – Sakamoto Mayuko became terminally ill with cancer and died several months later in hospital," Hirota said as he launched into his explanation. "Before that, her husband passed away peacefully at that house some 37 years ago now. Before that, the Ishida family lived there. The eldest son got married and moved out while the younger son married the eldest daughter of the Sakamotos and took her last name. There's no mention of Ishida's parents living with them so presumably the eldest son took in his parents and cared for them when they got old. The Sakamoto parents apparently died in some sort of accident outside this city, so they never lived with their daughter. Oh, and the Sakamotos didn't have any children which is why no one's claimed this property since Sakamoto Mayuko passed away. For some reason, the property either wasn't claimed by, or didn't return to, the Ishidas."

Naru frowned; nothing in Hirota's or Yasuhara's report caught his attention as being particularly noteworthy about the abandoned house. He then shot a quick glance at Nakai. "About Katou Hiroshi, were there any major changes in his life recently?" he asked.

Nakai cocked her head slightly. "Is that relevant?"

"I wouldn't be asking if it weren't," Naru said coldly.

Nakai shrugged slightly. "A background check revealed that he was to be laid off in a few weeks time due to downsizing at his office. When we inquired with his manager and employer, they were generally positive about his work performance, and said that the decision to let him go was strictly an economic one. Katou himself said he was actively looking for a new position and had lined up a couple of interviews for after their trip to Kyoto."

Naru considered Nakai's information about Katou Hiroshi for a long moment, tapping his finger against the table before him.

Finally, losing her patience, Nakai cleared her throat, "So what do you think of this house, Doctor?" she asked.

Naru didn't bother looking at her as he answered, "There's nothing here."

Nakai gaped at him. "That can't be!" she exclaimed. "Not only were there so many murders and crimes, but a number of perpetrators have reported similar stories about suddenly finding themselves committing some crime. I managed to corner Det. Konishi and even he admitted that the crimes that happen in this area are strange and that the perpetrators often have some sort of memory blank or voices in the head. Are you telling me that it's all just a coincidence??"

Naru shrugged. "My agreement with Hirota-san was to do a preliminary investigation of this house in exchange for the return of my employee," Naru said coldly. "If something paranormal is in fact causing these people to commit crimes, whatever that something is isn't here in this place. Therefore it's beyond the scope of my investigation and my agreement with Hirota-san. I've more than upheld my end of the bargain. There have been no significant temperature fluctuations in this house and no signs of poltergeist activity of any kind. There hasn't even been any ionic fluctuations."

Naru sighed sounded thoroughly disgusted. "As expected, this investigation has been an utter waste of four days," he said. "I could've better used that time to complete my data analyses and worked on writing a paper from the last case rather than stay here."

Nakai stared at Naru stunned. After speaking with Konishi, she'd been convinced that something was definitely wrong in this house. Too many crimes had occurred here, so she was certain the spirits from those crimes must still be caught in the house and were causing the subsequent residents to repeat the events under similar circumstances.

"Did you even really look?!" she demanded. "You brought your office staff, but you didn't even have Hara Masako come in to take a look and see if there are any spirits here! Hell, are any of your office members even capable of seeing spirits?! What the hell sort of investigation is that?!"

"There are no spirits here, or at least none of any real interest. The only spirits I'm interested in are those that manifest in a clear and measurable manner. There's no point in claiming a spirit or even many spirits are present if there's no evidence to support that claim. You may as well call a person, who claims spirits to be present without showing evidence, delusional," Naru said impatiently. "Also, even if I were inclined to call Hara-san in, which I'm not, she's currently busy and unavailable."

Nakai's jaw dropped. As if what Naru had said to her on the last case weren't bad enough... "I don't understand you," she said grating out the words. "At the Agawas, you told me that my seeing a ghost was my imagination. Now, not only are you telling me that this place, where a number of violent incidents have occurred all with similar circumstances, isn't haunted, you're also suggesting I'm delusional?! I thought you were a paranormal researcher, Doctor. And yet, every time I speak to you, it's almost as bad as speaking to Hirota-kun at the height of his utter disbelief in the paranormal. You deny everything as though it didn't exist!"

A look of annoyance flickered across Naru's face. "I'm not interested in claiming everything that initially seems to be inexplicable as being due to the paranormal," he said quietly. "Just because something seems inexplicable doesn't mean that it truly is. Claiming something to be something it isn't does nobody any credit and would do nothing but call into question all the impartial data we've managed to collect to date. It would do nothing but harm my credibility as a scientific researcher."

Nakai's face was flushed in anger as she stood with fists clenched. "You're running away, aren't you?" she growled finally. "I don't believe it. You're not even looking to see what's causing things, and you're going to run away instead. What about the girl? There's a seven-year-old missing girl, too, you know?!"

Naru looked at her coldly. "I was told that the murder investigation and the missing child were being considered two completely different cases. As I was brought in to help with the murder investigation, I've had absolutely nothing to do with the other case."

"Don't you even care about what happened to that child?! She's only seven years old! You've had all the opportunity in the world to try and find out where she is and what's happened to her while you've been here, and you're telling me you haven't even done that?!"

"Nakai!" Hirota finally said reaching out to grab her arm. "That's enough."

Naru looked at Nakai with a cold, contemptuous smile. "I was unaware that I was required to do the police's job for them simply because they're too incompetent to take care of things themselves. I was forced to investigate this house and its connection with the murders that have occurred here. I was told that the missing child was likely unrelated to the murders and therefore beyond the scope of my investigation. I have completed my investigation within those limits, and I've determined there's nothing significant in this house. Therefore, my job here is done. That's all."

Naru glanced at Hirota. "I trust that meets with your approval and that you will maintain your side of the bargain, Hirota-san?"

Hirota nodded. "Yeah. While I'm with Nakai in thinking that something strange is happening here, I also agree with you that it doesn't involve this house. The information Yasuhara-san dug up only served to further illustrate that. We should've done more background research before calling you in and been more circumspect in what we wanted you to investigate. Perhaps we should've included the child's disappearance with your investigation," he commented ruefully.

Naru shook his head. "Given the current circumstances, including the child's disappearance into the scope of our investigation would've been out of the question." Naru turned to look at Lin and Yasuhara.

"Naru," Lin called quietly. "It's starting to get dark. What about Taniyama-san?"

"Try raising her on her handset," Naru ordered.

Lin looked at Naru. "I've already tried; she doesn't answer."

Naru frowned slightly. "Do a GPS search for her handset. It shouldn't take long to find her out here," he said.

Lin nodded as he turned back to his keyboard.

A couple minutes later, Lin had the GPS location for Mai's handset. It was only a few hundred metres away from their present location.

Naru looked at the handset's location and exhaled. "That idiot. Lin, come with me. Yasuhara-san, mind the base," he ordered as he grabbed a flashlight and his jacket and left the base.

Yasuhara and Lin glanced at one another briefly. Lin grabbed his coat and slipped it on before grabbing a second handset and another flashlight, then quickly followed Naru out.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Naru and Lin stood in the shadowy yard around the abandoned house as they tracked down the location of Mai's handset with a GPS locator. The sky was darkening rapidly as the sun set. They managed to trace the signal to within a few metres, when they realised the handset must be within the building.

Naru sighed. "That idiot, what's she doing in there again?" He reached out and tested the storm panels before him but they didn't move. "Let's check the doors," he said at last. "If we can't get in that way, we'll have to break our way in through one of the windows."

Lin nodded as he remembered how Bou-san had broken the window at the Sasakuras in order to get into their house in the previous case. He followed his superior wordlessly around to the front door, but it was still firmly locked. However, unlike earlier in the afternoon, the back door was unlocked.

Naru stared at the door for a moment before pulling it open sharply. Lin turned on his flashlight and entered the house first. The house was cold, much like it was outside, and the hall that extended from the door was blanketed with a thick layer of dust. The dust on the wood floors showed clear signs of having been disturbed. Lin played his flashlight beam over the walls; the plaster surfaces were cracked and stained.

Before following Lin into the house, Naru grabbed a rock from outside and wedged the door open a bit. The two then continued further inside. The first room inside to the left was the kitchen, and there were closed fusuma dividers separating it from the next room. The two ignored the kitchen and continued down the hall where it came to a T-intersection. Naru indicated to Lin to continue to the left as it would take them closer to the location of Mai's handset.

Outside, full night had fallen, and the closed storm panels made the interior of the house seem oppressive. Lin and Naru reached a bend in the hallway with a door to the left, shoji screens in front of them, and the hallway continuing further to their right.

Naru shrugged and slid the shoji open. Inside, they found a 10-mat Japanese-style room with more fusuma to the right and shoji on the other end. Naru checked the GPS locator. They were getting close. Lin crossed the room and opened the shoji. On the other side was a small space with wood floors similar to the floor in the hallway. It was barely large enough to fit a chair to look out on the veranda. The other side of the space was closed off by storm panels and glass doors. Lin flashed his light down to the right and found that the space was closed off by a wall on that side.

Returning to the 10-mat room, Naru and Lin opened the fusuma and continued into the next room on the right. The room was about the same size as the one they'd just left and was empty except for a small closet. Lin opened the closet door and inside, they found the two-way radio Mai had taken with her when she and Naru went out earlier that day.

Naru picked up the transceiver while Lin checked the closet and the room for anything else.

Naru frowned. "Let's check the rest of the house," he said quietly.

Naru and Lin searched the house meticulously, but there was no sign of Mai.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Mai sat in darkness, curled up in a small ball. After finding no one home at the Imura residence, the house that had been empty for the past couple of days, she remembered how Keichi had mentioned often playing at the abandoned house and wondered if he might know of another way in. But, seeing as it was a weekday, Mai figured he wouldn't be home yet. So, she was quite surprised to find him standing behind her when she turned to return to base.

She asked Keichi if he knew of any secret ways in, and when he indicated he did, she decided to contact Naru in the base and let him know what she was about to do. Things were fine up until then. What she didn't expect was for Keichi to grab the two-way radio from her, as soon as she took it out of her pocket, and to take off.

Mai chased after Keichi in an effort to get the handset back, when she saw him duck into a small barn or shed. She remembered hesitating at the entrance as it was very dark and gloomy inside; as far as she could tell, the building had no windows. She also couldn't see where Keichi had gone. There was a sharp, rank odour inside the building which made her think that it was a barn more than a shed and that perhaps it hadn't been cleaned out recently. Hearing a sound come from up in the loft, she decided to go up there and investigate. And things went downhill from there.

Mai'd carefully climbed up the ladder and stepped out onto the floor of the loft to take a look around. When she moved several steps further into the loft, she heard a sudden noise behind her. Whirling around at the sound, she watched shocked as someone took the ladder away and ran out the door. Knowing that the edge of the floor was only steps away, Mai'd dropped to her knees to feel her way around only to stab the meaty part of her right hand on a large sliver of wood poking up from a knot in the floor. Mai cursed softly as she felt a small trickle of blood slide down her hand to fall onto the floorboards. Fumbling for a tissue, she carefully pressed it against her hand. However, while she was ministering her hand, the building was plunged into full darkness when the door was closed, and she distinctly heard the sound of a lock clicking shut afterwards.

Mai sighed. She didn't see the point in locking the door seeing how she was trapped up in the loft without a way down. It was a bit too high up for her to risk jumping down in the dark, especially since she didn't know what was down below. At least, she wasn't about to risk it quite yet.

After she was sure her cut had stopped bleeding, Mai curled up into a tight ball and buried her face in her knees as she shivered. Now that she wasn't constantly moving around, she was becoming all too aware of the chilly temperature.

_'Why do I always get into situations like this?!'_ she wondered. _'I guess it's a bit better in that I didn't fall into something like a well or a manhole, but still!'_

The others often called her a trouble maker and teased her about her tendency to get into trouble, but she definitely couldn't make any excuses this time. She was too miserable to even wonder why Keichi did that to her. _'I'm sure it was him. There's no one else it could've been.'_

"Naru..." she murmured to herself when her head jerked up in surprise. _'No. I can't. I can't always depend on him... or on Gene to help me when I get in trouble,'_ she thought. _'It's bad enough Naru had to come out here because of me, but adding this on top...' _

Mai felt tears spring in her eyes. She was always causing trouble for Naru, which is probably why he always yelled at her. Mai sighed. _'It's also probably why he often insults me and calls me an idiot,'_ she thought depressed. _'I wonder if he did the same to Gene. I know he called him an idiot especially when he found out that Gene can't seem to move on from this world, but...'_

She shook her head. _'Gene at least was fully trained and a medium in the true sense. So it makes sense that Naru would put up with a bit of inconvenience in dealing with him, not to mention he was Naru's brother. But me? I've only caused problems, ever since I broke that first camera.'_

Mai struggled against feeling sorry for herself. She knew it wasn't going to improve her situation, but knowing and feeling were two very different things. She shivered again and felt still more depressed over the cold. _'Of course I'm cold. It's late November! At least when Naru and I fell down the manhole it was still late summer.'_ Mai grit her teeth in frustration. _'Damn it, why is it always me? Why can't Lin-san or Yasuhara-san get into these sorts of situations for a change?! Better still why not Naru? Mind you, if that stick-in-the-mud did something as stupid as this...'_

Mai giggled to herself. She imagined Naru getting so angry at himself for getting trapped up in a loft that he used his PK to knock down a wall. _'I can just imagine the after-effects,'_ she thought as she laughed. _'Not only would the building probably collapse bringing Naru crashing down with it, further annoying him and injuring his pride, he'd probably end up collapsing from using his PK. And when that happened, we'd all end up in a panic over his collapse that we wouldn't even realise he'd been an idiot in the first place. Not until much later... if at all.'_

Mai sighed as she hugged herself tightly. _'I hope they realise I'm missing soon,'_ she thought. When she'd first been locked into the barn, just enough light leaked in from around the door that she could barely make out the difference between the floor and the empty expanse where the floor ended. But the light had faded at some point while she huddled on the floor and it was now pitch dark in the barn.

Mai struggled against exhaustion as it came crashing down on her. She hadn't slept much at all since coming to Kyoto, as she was afraid of possibly seeing Gene. She sensed that she might be even more afraid of _not_ seeing him in her dreams. So she'd avoided sleep as much as possible, barely even napping. But three nights with little sleep were taking their toll and she slipped into a fitful doze.

She didn't hear Gene's voice as it whispered in the darkness of her dreams.

_'Hang in there, Mai.'_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It was almost an hour later by the time Naru and Lin returned to base with Mai's two-way radio. When Naru entered, he saw that Nakai and Hirota were both still present. He raised an eyebrow slightly. "I see that the two of you don't have any work to do," he said acidly.

"Welcome back, Shochou, Lin-san," Yasuhara said as he turned towards the entry. "Eh? Where's Taniyama-san?"

Naru sighed as he put the handset on the table. "We found this in the house, but no Mai," he said. Naru glanced at Lin. "Lin..."

"I already have them searching," Lin replied.

"Eh? Where's Taniyama-san?" Hirota asked. "I thought you were going out to bring her back."

Naru shook his head but said nothing. Naru moved towards the room where the SPR regulars had been resting and keeping their things. However, Yasuhara stopped him before he could enter the other room.

"Shochou, have you tried contacting your brother?" he asked seriously. "He might know something about Taniyama-san's whereabouts."

Naru glanced at Yasuhara. "Why would I be in contact with that idiot?" he asked coldly. "For one thing, he usually shows up in Mai's dreams."

Yasuhara gazed at Naru steadily. "Shochou, Taniyama-san isn't you, and I believe you're quite aware of how she feels about sleep right now," he said calmly. "Besides, as I understand it, you finally managed to contact one another directly without Taniyama-san having to act as a messenger between you."

Naru shook his head. Shortly after the Agawa case, Mai had given him a very simple and plain black pocket mirror. At the time, she'd been very casual about it and told him that he should carry it with him just in case he ever needed to contact Gene. He'd been tempted to throw the mirror away or to lock it in his desk, but Mai had been very insistent about it.

The hotline that existed between Naru and Gene had become slightly misaligned after Gene's death, but Gene had since figured out how to contact Naru – provided Naru paid any attention to his brother. And along with the renewed contact via the hotline, was the ability for Gene – despite being dead – to once again act as an amplifier for Naru's PK. And even though there was a definite time lag in tossing energy to one another compared to when he was alive, Mai thought it important for Naru to be able to contact Gene wherever he was in case of emergencies. It had taken a bit of convincing on her part, but Naru eventually gave in and kept the mirror with him in his jacket pocket.

Naru sighed as he sat down where Mai had often been sitting in the base and leaned against the wall before reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket for the mirror. Between trying to contact Gene and doing psychometry on Mai's things, he was a bit more inclined to do psychometry regardless of how much more tiring it would be, let alone what he might end up seeing. He wasn't entirely comfortable dealing with Gene, and certainly Gene did have a way of getting on his nerves from time to time. Mai was enough like his older twin to make him react to her much like he would to Gene.

Naru opened the mirror and touched the surface concentrating on the hotline that connected him to his elder brother.

_'Stick-in-the-mud idiot scientist! Insensitive clod!!'_ Naru winced as Gene's yell echoed in his mind.

_'Gene...'_ Naru's thought echoed lowly across the line.

_'Well you are. Aaah, why do I have to be dead? If I were still alive, I'd steal Mai away for myself in an instant,'_ Gene said mostly to himself.

Naru's brows lowered and a hint of anger echoed in his thoughts, _'Gene, if you're going to talk like that, how about moving on before you end up changing and becoming an evil spirit? It's laughable enough as is for a medium to lose their way and be unable to go on to the afterlife. Having a medium become an evil spirit...'_

_'Yes, yes, yes, yes,'_ Gene said dismissing Naru's comment. _'Why don't you start thinking about how the people around you are feeling sometimes rather than treating them all like emotionless automatons?'_

Naru ignored Gene's question. _'I assume that your being awake means there's more to this case than this house, and that the cause is the house across the street?'_ Naru asked getting down to business.

_'Aah! And there you go changing the subject to work. Aren't you the least bit worried about Mai?'_ Gene asked sulking.

_'And there you go not saying anything next.'_ Gene sighed. _'There're no spirits in the house you're in right now. But I'll also have you know that I've mostly been asleep during this investigation, and only woke up when something happened to Mai.'_

Naru frowned. _'You mean when something seemed to almost possess her?'_

_'Yeah, she hit you pretty good, didn't she?'_ Gene asked chuckling but he quickly became serious again. _'You deserved it for the way you've been treating her during this investigation.'_

_'Silence again, Naru?'_ Gene asked amused. _'Well, I guess I can leave it at that since you let her hit you.'_

_'...Gene, if you don't have anything worthwhile to say, I'm going to cut this line,'_ Naru warned.

_'Ah, yes, yes, yes, yes, impatient one,'_ Gene said.

_'One "yes" is enough!'_ Naru snapped.

Gene chuckled at Naru's reaction.

_'Naru, Mai's feeling pretty insecure right now so don't push her too much,'_ Gene said soberly. _'I can't get near her; she's pushing me away and avoiding me.'_

Naru knit his brows together. _'She's avoiding you?' _ He hadn't expected that piece of news.

Gene nodded. _'I told you, I woke up when something happened to Mai, so I saw when she slapped you. I also heard her when she was talking to Yasuhara-san. She's terrified she won't be able to stop herself from trying to hurt me, so she's been avoiding me.'_

_'Do you know where she is?'_ Naru asked finally.

_'Naru, Mai's not you. She needs to sleep, but she hasn't been getting any. It's making her even more insecure and unsure of herself than she would be otherwise, and it's making her careless and vulnerable,'_ Gene said ignoring Naru's question for the moment.

A look of annoyance flashed across Naru's countenance. _'I know.'_

_'If you know, then try showing her a little more compassion, stupid scientist!!'_

Naru winced at Gene's unexpected outburst. _'Gene, **where is Mai**?'_ he asked delineating each word. There was an undercurrent of anger in his voice, and Gene realised he'd pushed a bit too much.

_'She's been locked up in a barn somewhere,'_ Gene said slowly. _'I don't know where it is, but she's been there for a number of hours, and it's cold outside Naru.'_

Naru's eyes narrowed. _'Then why have you been wasting my time rather than giving me the details?'_ he demanded.

_'...Because Lin's shiki need time to find her, and I don't want you to do psychometry and read more about Mai than she wants you to know right now.' _ Gene shrugged. _'Your only concept of delicacy in matters is to remain silent about the things you happen to learn, but Mai has a right to her privacy, too, you know?'_

Naru's fingers clenched around the mirror at Gene's words.

_'And don't you dare break the mirror that Mai gave you, you idiot!'_ Gene's voice echoed in Naru's head.

Naru's fingers trembled in anger as he clenched the mirror but he soon relaxed his hand. _'Is that all the information you have?'_ His tone was completely neutral.

_'Umm...,'_ Gene hesitated slightly as he considered what he'd noticed. _'The abandoned house – if you go in groups, it should be safe, but it might not be if you go alone. Oh, and Mai shouldn't go there at all; at least not in her current state. Also, you might want to call in the others if you're going to continue the investigation. The spirit itself isn't particularly strong, but it seems to like the game it's playing.'_

Gene paused. _'I take it you're planning on continuing the investigation?'_

Naru shrugged slightly. _'That spirit used Mai and _I_ got hit as a result. Do you honestly expect me to take being hit and not return the favour?'_

_'...Naru, you knew how Mai felt about going on an investigation before coming here, didn't you? Why'd you push her like that?' _Gene asked.

Naru refused to answer, but Gene sensed his younger brother's mood suddenly go downhill.

_'Silence again, eh? Well, I guess I can leave that for now, too,' _Gene said with a sigh.

He shook his head slightly before glancing away briefly. _'Ah, it looks like Lin's shiki have found her, so she should be safe now. You should hurry and go rescue her Naru.'_ Gene cocked his head as he studied his younger brother. _'...Although, you're probably the least suited person I know of to be a "knight in shining armour".' _he said laughing.

A displeased look crossed Naru's face at Gene's comment.

_'And take some bol...'_

Gene's last statement was suddenly cut off as Naru snapped the mirror shut on him. Gene blinked before chuckling to himself. His brother was clearly in a bad mood. _'I hope he realises what I was trying to tell him when he cut me off like that,'_ he thought to himself._ 'He might do something stupid otherwise.'_ Gene laughed again as the place he was in slowly dissolved away into nothingness.

* * *

Naru grimaced slightly as he looked up after shutting the mirror on Gene. He wasn't sure what Gene was about to tell him when he cut the line, but he suspected he'd find out soon enough. _'Why can't that idiot just give a clear and concise report?'_ He sighed as he slowly climbed to his feet, then looked at Lin. 

"Lin, your shiki know where Mai is, don't they?"

Lin looked at Naru mildly surprised when he suddenly turned and looked in another direction for a moment. He nodded silently in affirmation.

"Let's go." Naru glanced at Yasuhara. "Yasuhara-san, take care of things here."

"Yes sir." Yasuhara waved at Naru and Lin as they left the room.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Mai sat huddled in the darkness struggling to stay warm. _'It's cold in here.'_ She shivered miserably as she rubbed her hands together trying to warm them. _'I wonder if the others have realised I'm missing.'_

Mai looked around in the darkness but couldn't make anything out. She sighed as she started considering jumping again. _'But even if I jump, I won't be able to get out, so it would be pointless, right?'_

Mai looked up suddenly as the hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end; she had the distinct feeling she was no longer alone. She carefully tried to uncurl herself, but her muscles and joints complained after having remained in the same position for so long. Staring hard into the darkness, Mai tried to make out any details at all but could see nothing. She carefully slid away from where she'd be sitting when the wood beneath her creaked ominously. Mai froze unsure of what she should do.

She heard a soft scuttling sound in the dark and turned her head trying to follow the sounds while she reached out with her left hand feeling along the floor. There was nothing there but dusty floor. She tried feeling around with her right hand when she suddenly found the edge of the loft floor and couldn't help catching her breath in surprise. She hadn't realised she was that close to the edge.

As she carefully felt along the edge of the floor trying to determine how it ran, she heard more scuttling in the darkness. _'It's okay; it's only mice or rats. There's nothing else here.'_ she told herself. But part of her wondered if that was true. She hadn't had a chance to look around in the loft let alone in the barn, so really she had no idea what was in there. Mai carefully eased herself away from where she'd been sitting back to where she thought the ladder had originally been before she got trapped in the loft.

She heard more tiny scuttling noising and scratching when suddenly something heavier could be heard moving along the wood floor. Mai fought down her fear. _'Naru...,'_ she thought as the noises started to creep closer to her. The sounds paused and she heard something sniffing in the darkness. She heard soft rasping sounds as something rubbed against the wood boards a short distance away when whatever was in the darkness started moving slowly towards her again. _'Lin-san... Yasuhara-san...'_

She felt tears of helplessness spring up in her eyes as she sensed it was getting very close to her. She tried to slide still further away from the sound, when her hand encountered emptiness behind her.

_'Gene!'_

The instant she screamed Gene's name in her mind, she felt something move through the air. Mai looked around straining to see anything in the darkness but couldn't make anything out. Much to her relief, whatever was making the heavier noises suddenly scrabbled away from her. Mai waited for several long moments before carefully feeling her way around and easing herself away from the edge of the floor, when her right hand landed in a small pool of warm wetness on the floor. Mai caught her breath in fear but didn't move. She remained still for several moments longer but no sounds could be heard in the barn.

Mai shivered but remained still, struggling to hear anything else, when suddenly, she heard a sharp sound come from one side down below. A few moments later, the barn door creaked open and a beam of light shone into the interior. Mai stared at the barn below as she continued keeping silent. She didn't know who was there.

"Mai?"

Mai shivered at the sound of that familiar voice.

"Taniyama-san?" Lin's voice called out from below as well.

Mai felt her body trembling in relief as she called out to her colleagues below. "Naru! Lin-san! I'm up here!"

Naru shone his light up at Mai temporarily blinding her. Mai shielded her eyes with her right hand and heard Naru's breath catch. "Mai, how badly are you hurt?"

Mai cocked her head to one side. _'Hurt?'_

She shook her head. "I'm fine, but I can't get down from here. The ladder should be down there somewhere."

She heard the two rummaging around when the edge of the ladder suddenly appeared nearby. Moments later, Naru's head came into view as he climbed up the ladder. Naru shone his light over the floor of the loft when his beam suddenly stopped at a small dark puddle near Mai.

Mai's eyes widened as she stared at the small pool and realised she must've accidentally put her hand in that puddle a few moments ago. Naru shone his light around a little more. Scuff marks disturbing the dust in the loft could be seen a short distance away from the pool. Naru climbed up onto the loft floor and knelt to examine the marks and the small puddle when a sudden thought occurred to Mai. She checked her right hand – it was covered in blood.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Mai sat at the low table in the base, wrapped tightly in a blanket, drinking some tea that Yasuhara made for her. As soon as Lin and Naru returned with Mai, Naru unceremoniously threw her into the change area to the bath and told to get warmed up. Before she could protest, Naru stalked out of the room, and Yasuhara came in carrying her bag. Yasuhara handed her her things and told her much the same before closing the door firmly behind him.

Mai sighed and snuck a peek at her boss. While he had the same deadpan expression on his face that he always wore, the air around him seemed very dark and heavy. She could sense a wave of cold radiating from him and knew that he was in a very, very bad mood at the moment.

Naru gazed at Mai for a long moment before finally opening his mouth. "Did you come here to work or to cause trouble, Taniyama-san?"

Mai flinched at his icy tone and looked down. Her voice was scarcely audible as she responded, "To work."

She stared at the table unable to look up and meet his gaze. After a long moment, she heard Naru sigh. "What were you doing in there?"

Mai shivered but obediently gave her account on what had happened after she left Naru earlier that day. She didn't look up at all as she spoke.

Naru frowned slightly as Mai spoke of her two-way radio being stolen from her and how she'd been trapped in the loft in the barn. His expression became serious when she mentioned the sounds she'd heard in the dark there. Naru remembered the blood they'd found on the loft floor. Whatever it was might have been going after Mai when, for whatever reason, it stopped.

Naru tapped the table lost in thought for a long moment before turning to look at Yasuhara. "Yasuhara-san, contact the others and see if they can come out here. Hara-san if at all possible, but Bou-san at the very least."

"Yes sir." Yasuhara glanced at Mai. She was still a little pale.

"Did your brother say anything about the spirit or spirits in that house?" Yasuhara asked Naru curiously.

Mai glanced at Yasuhara then snuck a peek at Naru.

Naru grimaced slightly when Yasuhara mentioned Gene. "A little. He mentioned that the abandoned house should be safe as long as people go there in groups."

Mai look back down at the table. She couldn't help having mixed feelings about Naru having been in contact with Gene. _'It makes sense. It means there's something out here, but probably not in this house.'_ she thought morosely. _'And they've been able to communicate directly with one another ever since the Agawa case. That's why I gave Naru that mirror, after all.'_

Mai felt a pang in her chest as she thought about Gene still being there and being awake. _'I'm glad I__didn't see him since I'm afraid of what I might do, but... I wish I could've seen him. It's only been a bit over a month, but I really do love his smile. I _am_ glad that he and Naru were able to talk to one another again, but... I can't help wishing I could've seen him, too. Gene...'_ Mai knew it was silly for her to feel jealous of Naru for having been the one to speak to Gene. After all, the two were brothers and twins. But she couldn't help how she felt.

She sensed Naru looking at her and glanced up briefly but looked down again almost immediately.

"Next time, _you_ talk to that idiot, Taniyama-san. Better still, see if you can convince him to go on to the afterlife instead of hanging around here all the time." There was a hint of annoyance in Naru's voice, but Mai sensed it wasn't directed at her.

She glanced at Naru again and cocked her head to one side. _'I wonder if something happened between Naru and Gene...?'_

Naru looked away. "He said you were avoiding him. He's an idiot but not an insensitive clod, so it's probably safe for you to get some sleep."

A strange, confused look passed over Mai's face. _'An insensitive clod? Where did _that_ come from?!'_ she wondered to herself.

"You should get some sleep as well, Naru," Lin said suddenly from where he was sitting by the monitors.

Naru glared at Lin. "I'm fine."

Lin gazed at Naru steadily, but it was Naru who looked away first.

When the two had reached the locked barn, Lin distinctly heard Naru curse lightly under his breath saying, "So that's what he was about to say." Lin had been about to suggest going back for bolt cutters when he saw Naru reach out and touch the lock. The next instant, he distinctly heard the lock click open.

Even though it was a small use of his PK, Naru had promised his father he wouldn't use that ability. He'd already broken that promise once in the Agawa case, and Lin knew that he should've thrown Naru onto the next plane back to England when he realised what Naru had done. However, given the situation they'd been in, and given that Naru had been able to toss energy with Gene, there'd been no serious risk to Naru. This time, however...

"Naru, need I remind you of your promise to the professor?"

Naru's head snapped up and he glared at Lin. Yasuhara and Mai looked at Naru and Lin confused.

"I realise you were worried about Taniyama-san, but you're not supposed to use PK."

Mai's eyes widened in surprise while Yasuhara looked mildly amused.

"Naru... did you use PK?" Mai asked hesitantly.

Naru wouldn't meet her gaze and refused to answer her question.

"You mustn't do that, Naru." The concern was almost palpable in her tone, and Naru finally turned to look at her.

"You're one to talk, Taniyama-san?" he asked raising an eyebrow archly.

Mai bit her lower lip. "You should get some rest too, Naru, especially if you used your PK."

A cold smile flickered across Naru's face. "Is that any invitation, Taniyama-san? I didn't realise you wanted to sleep together in the same room so much."

Mai recoiled slightly as she met his eyes. They definitely weren't laughing.

"Naru...?" she asked hesitantly.

He let a hint of cold amusement creep into his eyes. "Shall I take you up on your offer?"

"Wha--!" Mai instantly turned beet red.

Elsewhere in the room, Yasuhara blinked in surprise while Lin went slightly pale.

Naru wiped all expression from his face as he suddenly reached out and slapped Mai on the forehead lightly. "Never mind about me. Go to bed."

Mai blinked, uncertain of what she just saw. Before Naru resumed his usually expressionless façade, she could've sworn she saw a hint of real amusement in Naru's eyes. Mai shook her head violently in disbelief. That was absolutely impossible.

"Good night!" she yelled, as she ran into the next room, closing the fusuma violently shut behind her.

* * *

Lin gazed steadily at his young ward for a long moment uncertain of what he'd just seen. While Gene often liked to play pranks and fool around, Naru had never been the type. He briefly wondered if Naru might've hit his head at some point in the investigation without his knowledge or if Naru had been affected in some bizarre manner by whatever might be haunting the abandoned house they'd visited while searching for Mai.

Yasuhara chuckled softly having quickly recovered from his initial surprise. He was sure that if Bou-san were here, the monk would now be an empty shell whose spirit had fled its body in shock. However, he quickly wiped the amusement from his face and glanced at Lin and Naru. Lin still had a slightly distant look in his eyes suggesting he still hadn't fully come back to himself.

"What was that thing Taniyama-san described as coming towards her in the loft?" Yasuhara asked Naru.

Naru frowned then shook his head. "I don't know. At the very least, none of the reports so far would've made me expect anything like that to happen." Naru glanced at Lin. "Lin, did you sense anything in the barn when we entered?"

Lin shook his head. "However, one of my shiki did react to something shortly before we found Taniyama-san. Naru, are you planning on keeping Taniyama-san with us for the rest of this case?"

Yasuhara looked at Lin curiously. Naru slowly nodded after a moment's pause.

"It's probably safer to keep her with us for now," Naru said. "We need to find out if whatever was in that barn lives there and Mai just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or if something else is at work here. But just in case..." Naru glanced at Lin.

Lin nodded. "I have three of my shiki guarding her."

The three turned towards the shoji at the sound of the front door opening. Nakai and Hirota came into the base looking chilled and tired.

"We found her," Hirota said heavily as he sat down.

Naru waited patiently for Hirota to tell him what they found.

Hirota shook his head. "We won't know how she died until an autopsy is done, but..." He closed his eyes briefly. "From what I saw, it looked like some large animal had gotten to the body and partially eaten it."

Naru's eyes narrowed. "How long until you have the preliminary autopsy result?"

Hirota shook his head. "It could take some time."

"Um, Shochou," Yasuhara interjected raising his hand. "I'm not entirely following the conversation here. Who's been found, where, why, and how?"

"You heard how Mai'd been trapped in the loft of a barn near here," Naru said quietly. "Katou Hiroshi had been out searching for his daughter when he suddenly found himself picking up an axe and killing the rest of his family. His daughter, however, was never found."

Yasuhara nodded. He knew that from when Hirota first came to the office requesting the investigation.

"What if Mai wasn't the first person to be trapped in that barn?" Naru asked seriously. "The padlock and chain on the door weren't so old that they're rusted or falling apart, so the probability of someone randomly being able to get inside is extremely low; you'd need a key. The search for the missing girl involved the surrounding area and those buildings that are readily accessible. However, while the building Mai was trapped in was fairly flimsy, it didn't seem to be used very much, and it was kept locked. The residents of that property appear to be out a lot, and that building is a bit distant from the house, so they might not notice if anything happened there."

Naru glanced at Hirota. "I take it they weren't home and that they didn't return while you were there?"

Hirota shook his head. "One of the investigators mentioned that the people who own that property are away on a retirement trip and have been gone for over a month now. They learned about that when they did the initial search for the girl a few weeks ago, which is why they didn't think to break the lock on the barn. The local police will try to contact the owners, but it could take some time as they're said to have gone overseas for their trip."

Naru nodded. "When Lin and I entered the barn, there was the distinct smell of putrefaction, but there were no signs of animals having been kept there recently. I don't think Mai noticed the lack of animals when she first went in there, so she probably didn't think too much about the smell. Mai said she didn't move around too much in the loft because she couldn't see where the floor ended very well and felt it unsafe. Most likely, that was her sixth sense kicking in as the loft seems to be in a pretty poor state of repair. There are places where she could very easily have fallen through the floor. Unfortunately, we won't know how the girl – Katou Aiko – died until Hirota-san gets the autopsy results."

Naru frowned slightly. "There's also the question of what went after Mai in there. It didn't look like there were any large animals living in the barn, and since Mai was in the loft, it would either have to have been up there, or it would have to have been able to get up there. If there is something in there, it's possible it could've succeeded in killing or causing the Katou girl's death. However, at the moment, we don't know what – if anything – is in there, so there's no way to be sure. We don't even know if what happened to Mai is related to how the girl died."

"By the way," Hirota said, "we're probably going to need to get a statement from Taniyama-san. She's obviously not a suspect, but we need to know where she was and what she was doing in the loft." Hirota's gaze was steady as he looked at Naru.

Naru shrugged slightly and glanced at Lin. "Lin?"

"Taniyama-san's report was recorded, so there shouldn't be any problem with that. However..." Lin hesitated.

"Hmm... yeah," Yasuhara said from his corner. "I don't think her comments about something moving in the dark in there would go over too well if there's nothing else living in the building. People might question her sanity. Is there any way to cut that part out without making things seem too unnatural?" he asked.

Lin frowned slightly as he turned towards the computer.

Nakai raised her hand. "Doctor, I have a question. You mentioned Taniyama-san's sixth sense as though it were a significant factor in her actions. Do you mean to say that she's psychic? You've denied that possibility every time I've brought the subject up, so why is she different?"

A flicker of annoyance crossed Naru's face. But before he could say anything, Yasuhara interjected. "Ah! I'd heard that you tested Taniyama-san, but I have no idea what sort of test it was. I'm a bit curious about that actually."

Naru let out a long sigh. "Mai was tested for psychic ability after the Yuasa H.S. case. Her test result was significant. Isn't that enough?"

Yasuhara had a wry smile on his face. He knew his boss didn't like to speak about certain things, but... "What sort of test was it? If I were interested, would I be able to take it too?"

Naru looked at Yasuhara. "You could easily take the test if you had a few hours to spare, but I would expect it to be a complete waste of time."

Yasuhara laughed. "It hurts a bit to have it said so plainly."

Naru shrugged. "It's the truth."

Yasuhara shook his head slightly. "What sort of test is it?" he asked again.

Naru sighed. "It's a simple test. A machine randomly lights one of four lights and the examinee has to guess which one it'll be. This test is then repeated a thousand times in order to get a result that is statistically significant and not due to chance."

Hirota and Nakai looked at each other when they heard Naru's last statement. _'The test is repeated a thousand times?'_

Yasuhara cocked his head. "I heard Taniyama-san's result was quite impressive. She got them all right?"

Naru shook his head. "If she did she would be precognitive. She was wrong on every single attempt."

Yasuhara blinked at Mai's test result as he considered the Naru's statement. His eyes widened when he realised what Naru was saying. "That _is_ interesting," he admitted looking amused.

Hirota and Nakai exchanged another even more confused glance. _'Being wrong is significant??'_

Hirota hesitantly raised his hand. "You lost me. I don't see why Taniyama-san being wrong on her test is so significant."

Annoyance flashed across Naru's countenance again, but it was Yasuhara who replied. "Hirota-san, what's the probability of guessing correctly – by chance – for the test Shibuya-san just described?"

Hirota frowned. "One in four."

Yasuhara nodded. "And for getting it wrong?"

"Three fourths."

"How about if you did another test?" Yasuhara asked.

"The same. The probability doesn't change."

Yasuhara nodded. "Right. So, what's the probability of getting all wrong answers if you did the test twice?

"Umm... three quarters times three quarters, so... nine sixteenths."

Yasuhara nodded. "That's at two tests. What if you repeated the test a thousand times?"

Hirota frowned as he started to mentally calculate the probability. With each repeat of the test, the overall probability of every answer being wrong was compounded by another factor of 0.75. In other words, the probability of getting all wrong answers went down, little by little, with each test and slowly approached zero. The more he thought about it, the more incredible such a result seemed.

Naru smiled cynically at Nakai. "Do you have any other questions as to why Taniyama-san's intuition is significant compared to other untested people?"

Nakai said nothing as she looked away.

"But it also sounds a bit troublesome, especially if you consider Taniyama-san's penchant for running after trouble," Yasuhara said suddenly. "I mean, it's one thing to never guess right on a school test, but what if Taniyama-san were in danger, and she had to make a split second decision between two unknowns? Would her sensitivity to danger kick in causing her to choose rightly, or would her inability to choose correctly take over and make her choose wrongly?"


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Mai woke late the next day in a bit of a daze. Her brain was sluggish and reluctant to give answers as she tried to remember what'd happened over the past few days. As her thoughts slowly started to drag themselves together, she was relieved to realise that she hadn't dreamt anything while she'd been sleeping. She stretched before slowly beginning to crawl her way out of her futon when she glanced at her watch.

"Ehhh?! You're kidding!" she exclaimed. It was already 1 P.M.

A short moment later, she heard a knock at the fusuma and Ayako slid the sliding partition open. Mai could see Bou-san and John crowding around behind her.

"You're awake," Ayako remarked looking at Mai.

Bou-san looked at her with a mock stern look. "Girl, I don't remember raising you to be so lazy as to be waking at this time of day," he said. However, that soon fell apart as he strode over to Mai and wrapped her in a bear hug.

"Gah! Let go of me, you old geezer!" Mai yelled struggling to breathe.

John smiled gently at Bou-san's antics. "How are you feeling?" he asked Mai.

Mai waved a hand somewhere in John's direction as she struggled to get free of Bou-san when Ayako hit Bou-san hard on the head with her fist.

"Oww!"

"Let go of her, you pervert," Ayako said annoyed. "And get out of here. At least have the decency to let her get changed!"

"Aa!" Bou-san exclaimed and looked down at Mai. "By the way, young lady, what's with all of the office staff staying in the same room? Daddy's rather upset with you, Miss."

Mai looked miffed. "That was Naru's decision. If you have a problem, talk to him about it. I'm just an employee."

Bou-san cuffed her lightly on the head. "I intend to do that, young lady. And what's this about your trying to make a move on him yesterday?"

Mai blinked in stunned confusion. _ 'I tried to make a move on Naru? Say what?!'_

"What on earth are you talking about, Bou-san? Has your age finally caught up with you that you're going senile?" Mai laughed weakly.

"Ah, I heard it, too, Mai. You'll have some explaining to do when Masako gets here later tonight." Ayako piped in.

Mai shook her head bewildered. She had no idea what they were talking about.

* * *

By the time Mai finished getting changed and cleaned up, Ayako had since disappeared into the kitchen while Bou-san and John were seated at the low table flipping through parts of the case file. Mai was a bit surprised when she spotted Hirota sitting with his back to the wall in one corner of the base.

Naru barely glanced at Mai as he said, "Mai, tea."

"Coming." Mai looked inquiringly at Bou-san and the others.

Bou-san looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "I'll have whatever you're making. I assume you don't have the stuff to make iced coffee at the moment."

"Sorry about that, Bou-san," Mai said smiling. "How about you, Hirota-san, John?"

Hirota looked up at Mai. "Whatever you're making is fine."

John nodded in agreement. "Whatever's easiest for you."

"'Kay, wait just a bit." Mai said as she hurried out of the base and into the kitchen where Ayako was.

* * *

Several minutes later, Mai and Ayako returned to the base carrying trays with food and tea. As soon as Mai finished serving everyone's tea, Ayako imperiously ordered her to sit and eat.

"Just what were you thinking? You don't know how to cook that well, yet you and Yasuhara-shounen tried keeping everyone fed for over four days? I'm surprised you haven't fainted from hunger yet!" Ayako looked at Naru and Lin. "You could've at least sent someone out to bring back some ready-made food. Most people can't survive off of air and work, you know."

"Are you quite done with the lecture, Matsuzaki-san? I'd like to get down to business." A hint of annoyance could be heard in Naru's tone.

"Yes, yes. And what would you like, Naru-chan?" Ayako asked dismissively.

Naru sighed, but before he could say anything, Ayako glanced at Mai. "Eat!" she ordered sternly.

Mai twitched slightly but obediently began eating.

Naru glanced at the Irregulars. "Hirota came to us almost a week ago wanting us to investigate this house for paranormal activity. His premise was that, since two murders with certain unusual similarities occurred here, the house must have caused the murders. When I refused the case, he kidnapped Mai from her school and brought her to Kyoto. Her ransom was for us to investigate this house."

Hirota frowned at Naru's description of what he'd done, but managed to remain silent.

Ayako and Bou-san looked at one another in surprise.

"I'm surprised at you," Bou-san said slowly. "You _are_ the same stubborn mule who only a month ago refused to let us force our way into the Sasakuras' home in order to exorcise Sekiguchi's spirit, aren't you? Whatever possessed you to resort to kidnapping? That's a lot against the law, after all."

Hirota glared at Bou-san. "I didn't kidnap her. ...I just didn't say where I was taking her," he said after a moment.

Ayako sighed. "What were you thinking, Mai? You're more than old enough to know better."

"Girl, I don't remember raising you to be so careless as to go with people you don't know well. You do at least know not to accept candy from strangers, don't you?" Bou-san said looking sternly at Mai.

Mai shrugged slightly. She couldn't change what she'd done at this point in time. "Bou-san, Ayako," she said glancing at Naru uneasily, "Naru's getting impatient."

Bou-san glanced at Naru. "Ah, sorry about that, Naru-bou."

Naru picked up with his summary of events. "Anyhow, having found nothing here in this house, the initial investigation was supposed to end yesterday after which we were supposed to pack up and leave, except _someone_ decided to disappear and cause even more trouble."

Mai pouted at Naru's description of her actions. _'It's not like I wanted to get locked up in that barn!'_

"However, given the circumstances, we've decided to stay and help Hirota-san with what should be his own work. After all, he and Nakai-san seem to be incapable of handling their own jobs." Naru exhaled as he opened the case file. "Some time early yesterday afternoon, Mai ended up getting locked up in a barn a few properties up the road from here. Most likely, one of the kids living in this area locked her in there. Fortunately, it ended with just trapping her up in the loft of the barn and locking the barn up, but many of the incidents that have been occurring in this area have been much more serious than pranks."

Naru took a photo from the file. It was of a family photo of a little girl.

"This is Katou Aiko. Her family was visiting her grandparents home when her father killed his wife and in-laws. Aiko, however, was never found. We found her body yesterday while looking for Mai." Naru glanced at Mai briefly. "The current theory for what's happening in this area is that people who go to this one house on their own somehow end up being influenced into doing things they're unlikely to do under normal circumstances. Yasuhara-san contacted Hara-san, and she's managed to rearrange her schedule to come down here tonight, but she won't be able to stay long. She'll be taking a look at a few places on this street. From what Gene told me..."

"Eh? You've been in contact with your brother?!" Bou-san interrupted in surprise.

Naru glared at Bou-san.

"Ah, sorry. Please continue," Bou-san said shrinking back from Naru's withering stare.

"As I was saying, according to Gene, the house that seems central to the incidents really only poses a danger to those who go there alone, but as long as people go in groups, it should be safe. Bou-san, John, Hirota-san, you'll be helping me set up equipment at the house. We'll be using some wireless equipment as well as the usual, so changing tapes is always to be done in groups of two or more. Mai, you and Matsuzaki-san are to go talk to the old woman and her son again. The man said that he was sure a number of crimes are happening in the area but aren't getting reported. See if you can find out more about that." Naru looked at Mai sternly. "Once you finish that, you're to come straight back here. No talking to anyone else, and no side trips."

Mai pouted at Naru's overly concise orders. "I got it. I'm not a little child." she said looking away.

The Irregulars all choked back their laughter at Mai's reaction. She was acting very much like a little child.

"Let's go," Naru said quietly.

* * *

"So what did you do to deserve being put on such a short leash, Mai?" Ayako asked curiously as they walked along the road.

Mai shrugged. "I didn't really do anything. Naru told me to check on a house yesterday afternoon, only no one was home. I ran into one of the kids in the area when I was about to return to base and asked him if he knew of another way into the abandoned house because it was locked when Naru and I went. The kid said he did. Only, when I went to contact the base to tell them I'd be checking out that house again, he stole my two-way radio."

Mai sighed as she stared at the fields around her. "The kid ran off, and I chased after him. He then lured me into a barn. I heard something up in the loft, so I went up there to take a look. The next thing I knew, he'd taken the ladder away trapping me up in the loft, and then he locked me in the barn. Thankfully, Naru and Lin were able to find me several hours later, so it all ended okay."

Ayako stared at Mai for a long moment. "Was the place you were locked in, somewhere this way?"

"Hm?" Mai glanced at Ayako before shaking her head and turning back to face the road ahead. "No, it was up the road the other way, maybe a few houses up from where we've been staying."

Ayako grimaced. She remembered seeing a number of people present at one home where the body of the little girl had been found. She suspected Naru had been vague about where the little girl had been found because Mai hadn't realised the girl's body had been in the same place as she'd been locked up. _'Which means the person who locked Mai up in the barn might be the same person who killed that little girl.'_

* * *

Most of the equipment set up at the Nishimura residence had been dismantled during the night and morning following Mai's ordeal. Since the abandoned house they were investigating didn't have electricity, they were going to have to rely on battery power. Naru grimaced slightly at that thought. They were going to need to make a lot of trips during the course of a day in order to keep the equipment running constantly.

While Hirota and Bou-san began unloading the equipment, Naru and John went through the house measuring the temperature in the various rooms. The temperature in a few of the rooms were slightly lower overall, but none of the temperature differences were significant. Since they only had a limited amount of wireless equipment, Naru decided to set up the equipment in the lower temperature rooms, as well as those areas that showed the most signs of having been disturbed lately, while still trying to maintain as much coverage of the entire house as possible. Not having electricity was going to be a logistical problem.

After the equipment had been unloaded, Naru sent Hirota back to base with the van while he, Bou-san, and John went to work setting the cameras and mics up.

"Bou-san, do you know of any spirits that stalk, kill, or even eat people?" Naru asked suddenly.

"Hm?" Bou-san glanced at Naru. "Well, you remember that old school house in Nagano, right? Just before you found your brother. I'm pretty sure I saw a gaki hiding up in the ceiling crawl space when we found all the dead bodies while searching for Ayako and Lin-san. I figure it was the gaki that caused that corpse to fall from the ceiling, too, since that ceiling panel was shoved to one side before the body came crashing down. It's said there are 36 different types of gaki. Among them, there's one that kills infants, another one eats infants, and there's even one that attacks and kills people and eats them. Why?"

Naru looked at Bou-san and John. "Something might've been after Mai while she was locked up in that barn. As soon as we realised she'd gone missing, Lin had his shiki search for her and they were protecting her until we were able to get her out of the barn. But at some time between when she was locked up and when Lin and I found her, something else found her and seems to have been moving towards her. Fortunately, Lin's shiki managed to drive it away without any difficulty. I found scuff marks in the dust and a small pool of blood near her, and her hand was covered in blood."

Bou-san and John looked at one another.

"D'you think that whatever was in that barn was after Mai-san?" John asked concerned.

Naru sighed and shook his head. "Hirota-san mentioned that the body of the little girl appeared to be partially eaten when they found it yesterday. Unfortunately, he didn't say anything further about it. Likewise, we won't really know anything about how the girl died until the autopsy results are in, and they can take some time. I don't particularly like the idea of staying out here long enough to figure out what might be in the barn, but we need to know if Mai just happened to be unlucky when she got locked in there. It could be that she happened to be locked in there and some creature just happened to live there. Or it could be that she was locked in there because some creature lives there." Naru looked at the two seriously. "The other possibility is that whatever that thing was showed up because it was after Mai, and where she was had nothing to do with things."

Bou-san looked at Naru. "Did your brother say anything about the thing?"

Naru shook his head. "No. He didn't seem too concerned about Mai being locked up at any rate. The only thing he said after Lin's shiki found her was that she should be safe."

Bou-san frowned at that comment. "Huh?! What's that supposed to mean? You mean he knew Mai was in danger but didn't say anything? Or did he not know something was there but knew that, once Lin's shiki were with her, she'd be found soon enough, and anything that may or may not be there was unlikely to be an issue any more? What was your brother thinking?"

Naru shook his head. "You're definitely asking the wrong person if you want to know what that idiot was thinking," Naru said annoyed.

John looked at Naru. "Shibuya-han, what is it that you're so worried about?"

Naru looked away. "A person gets locked into a barn and the sun goes down. The person is stuck in there for one maybe two hours after dark during which time something comes out of the darkness towards that person. That response time seems to be too fast. Unless the gaki are that vicious in their own homes?" Naru glanced at Bou-san inquiringly.

Bou-san looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure how vicious they are really. Most of the gaki are seen as pathetic creatures since they're typically unable to eat or drink anything and are constantly starving. But the ones that do eat... I'm not sure," he confessed shaking his head.

Naru nodded. "Mai won't be coming out here at all during this investigation. Gene's already said that she should be kept away from here, and I agree. However, she might not take kindly to being excluded like that."

Bou-san sighed. "Roger that. I'll do my best to make sure she doesn't get suspicious or upset about being left out. I'll try cornering Ayako sometime tonight and let her know, too."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

It was almost 8 P.M. by the time Hara Masako rang the doorbell at the Nishimura house. Mai answered the door to find her friend standing there.

"Ah, Masako! It's been a while!"

"Mai, I'm disappointed in you." Masako said glaring at Mai.

Mai took a step back in surprise. "M-Masako...?"

"I heard about your propositioning Naru yesterday," she said coldly.

Mai's eyes went wide in shock. "Wh-wh-wh-who would proposition that stick-in-the-mud?!?" she asked shrieking in horror.

"Mai! Be quiet! You'll disturb the neighbours!" A cold voice rang out from the base annoyed.

Mai flinched slightly at the rebuke when reality sunk in. "How can I disturb the neighbours if the nearest one lives five minutes away on foot?!" she yelled. She stalked to the base and jerked the shoji screen open. Mai glared at Naru who glared back at her, but his gaze soon shifted to the person standing behind her.

Masako had followed Mai into the house and to the base.

"Bou-san, John, Hirota-san, come with us. And don't forget the flashlights," Naru ordered quietly. "I trust that's alright with you, Hara-san?"

Masako nodded and watched as the others set about getting ready to leave. "Mai, I will speak with you more later," she said coolly.

"Eh? I'm not coming, too?" Mai asked surprised.

Naru glared at her. "We don't have time to make sure you don't get into any more trouble tonight so you and Matsuzaki-san are to stay here with Lin. Understood?"

"...'Kay." Mai agreed unhappily.

* * *

Bou-san drove the company van to the abandoned house first. Masako looked around but could make little out in the darkness. She slowly walked towards the house while Bou-san, Hirota, and John gathered tapes and spare batteries for the equipment that was currently running inside the house. 

Masako walked around the house once, before finally indicating that she was ready to go inside. Naru led the way into the house and proceeded slowly in visiting each room there. Bou-san, John, and Hirota exchanged batteries and tapes in the various cameras while Naru checked over certain cameras checking in with Lin and making sure they were transmitting data properly.

It took Masako the better part of half an hour to walk through the entire house with everyone else following and quietly taking care of the equipment. She finally turned to Naru. "What other places did you want me to look at?" she asked.

"The barn and loft where Mai'd been locked up, and the Nishimura home although Gene said there was nothing there, and we've had no reaction whatsoever while investigating that house," Naru replied quietly.

Masako nodded. "Let's go to this barn then."

* * *

Several minutes later, the five reached the barn. This time, Hirota led the way with the stern warning that, as much as possible, they were not to disturb things. 

Masako cocked her head slightly when she entered the building and started to examine the lower floor.

Naru looked at Hirota. "Hirota-san, where was the body found?" he asked quietly.

Hirota frowned. "Well, it's not like you're going to go spreading the details of this case, and it's highly unlikely you were involved in the girl's death, so I guess it's okay to tell you. He pointed to the section Masako had just left. "The actual cause of death – if determinable – will have to wait for the autopsy results, but it looked like she fell from the loft." Hirota frowned. "I'm concerned about what had been eating her though. No animals are kept in here, and nothing large enough to do the sort of damage I saw could've made its way in here either."

Naru walked over to where Hirota had indicated the girl's body had been found. Looking up, he could see the edge of the loft area. The girl had fallen close to the wall while Mai had been staying closer to the middle part of the barn. Naru examined the ground comparing where he estimated the body had likely lain to the edge of the loft.

"Hirota-san, do you know if the girl survived the fall and died a fair amount of time later, or if she died either from the fall or shortly thereafter?"

Hirota shook his head. "Sorry, not until we get the coroner's report."

Naru sighed. "You people really are very slow in your work, aren't you?" he asked exasperated.

Naru and Hirota returned to the centre of the building and waited for Masako to finish her examination of the lower level. When she finished, Bou-san went up the ladder to the loft first carefully testing the floor before indicating that Masako should climb up while the others remained below.

Masako carefully moved around in the loft but retreated back towards the ladder every time the floor creaked in protest under her weight.

Bou-san examined the floor and the marks that were still visible there while Masako carefully made her way around as much as she could. He stared at the stain on the floorboards that Naru had told him about when they found Mai. Beyond that, there was nothing to be seen in the loft except for the disturbed dust. He followed the disturbed dust marks towards the wall for as long as the floor seemed able to handle his weight, then shone his light at the wall trying to see if there was anything on the wall or on the floor there. He shook his head, he couldn't see anything, and most likely the police would've taken away anything that had been there.

Bou-san then shone his light towards the far corner furthest from where Mai was supposed to have been sitting and frowned. The light seemed to get sucked into the darkness there and he couldn't make out any details.

Masako sighed tiredly and slowly made her way back to the ladder and down to the ground. She was a bit pale and wavered a bit on her feet for a moment. John reached out and steadied her for a moment and she gave him a wan smile in thanks.

When Bou-san moved to follow Masako down from the loft, however, Naru stopped him. Instead, Naru climbed part-way up the ladder and passed a camera up to him.

"Bou-san, aim this towards the far corner of the loft. I want to see if there's any reaction to be seen in here as well. Just in case whatever Mai described has some sort of real connection to this place," Naru said quietly. "I trust that's okay with you, Hirota-san?" Naru asked.

Hirota grimaced but nodded. "I'm pretty sure no one's coming back here now that they've all left."

Bou-san set the camera making sure it was secure and running properly before he finally climbed down from the loft. He found the rickety floor to be unnerving so he was more than happy to finally get back down to firm ground again.

Naru contacted Lin at base making sure that all the equipment that had been set up was running smoothly before indicating that everyone should leave.

Hirota locked the barn with a new padlock and the Irregulars all headed back to the van for the drive back to the Nishimura residence. Naru stared at the building for a moment longer before finally turning to follow the others.

* * *

Masako looked tired by the time she returned to the base with the others. Mai and Ayako quickly got up to make everyone tea when Naru stopped Ayako. 

"Matsuzaki-san, accompany Hara-san as she takes a look around this house."

"Naru-bou, I realise you want to finish this investigation as quickly as possible, but don't you think you should give her a moment to rest?" Bou-san asked incredulous. All the Regulars and Irregulars were familiar with how much of a workaholic Naru was, but Masako had just finished taking a look at two buildings, so she'd more than earned a break before looking at the place of least interest in the case.

Masako shook her head. "I'm alright," she said. "Matsuzaki-san, if you would please lead the way."

Ayako shrugged as she led Masako first through the upstairs and then through the main level of the house.

Masako didn't spend much time looking around the Nishimuras home, and she and Ayako soon made their way back to base. Inside, they found Mai finishing up serving tea to everyone, and they noticed that there was some Darjeeling for Ayako and gyokurou for Masako.

Naru sat at the table waiting impatiently as Masako and Ayako made their way inside the base.

"Hara-san?"

Masako took a sip of her tea as she collected her thoughts. She sighed. "First, I'll start with this house: there's nothing here." she stated firmly. "Despite the murders, there are no spirits wandering around lost here."

Masako paused as she considered the other two places. "As for the abandoned house, I could faintly sense a presence there, but I couldn't see it clearly," she admitted. "It's as though..." her voice trailed off as she considered what she saw.

She cocked her head slightly before looking up at Naru. "It's as though it were hiding itself away," she said finally. "While I couldn't see the spirit clearly, I sensed that whatever it is, it's not very strong."

A faint frown crossed Masako's face briefly. "It's presence was strongest in the room you mentioned finding Mai's handset, the room off the kitchen, and the room next to the laundry area."

Masako looked at Mai. "Mai, did you really remain in that loft for several hours?"

Mai looked at Masako in surprise before nodding slowly. "I couldn't get down from there, so I had to stay up there until Naru and Lin-san found me."

Masako shook her head. "You should think about going to a shrine or temple and have the monks and priests pray over you for an hour or maybe a year."

Mai blinked. "Masako?"

"I don't know how you could stand being in there for so long." Masako glanced at Naru. "I don't know what I saw in there," she stated flatly.

Naru frowned at Masako's statement. "Could you be a bit more specific, Hara-san?"

Masako looked tired as she stared into her cup of tea. "I couldn't see any spirits in the building, nor did I sense any presences. But that loft..." Masako shivered as she remembered the atmosphere of the loft. It had a graveyard-like morbid chill. "There's something strange about that loft, but I'm not sure what. I couldn't see part of it at all."

Masako frowned as she tried to find the right words to describe exactly what she saw. "Do you remember the Morishita house? When I looked at that well, it was as though I were looking into the depths of hell itself. It's rare to see something so horrible, but there were many spirits trapped there." She paused for a moment. "But that loft... I couldn't see the very corner of it. It was as though... it didn't exist at all; not on this plane and not wherever spirits normally go to."

Naru drummed his fingers on the table lost in thought as he considered Masako's words. He glanced at Mai and Ayako. "What about the two of you, what did you find out this afternoon?"

Ayako and Mai looked at one another. Mai shrugged gesturing for Ayako to give the report. Ayako grimaced slightly.

"We went to the house like you told us," she began. There was no mistaking the look of distaste in her expression. "That guy living there, he's lucky I didn't hit him. He just kept going on and on and wouldn't shut up."

"I'd appreciate if you wouldn't go on and on and would get to the point, Matsuzaki-san," Naru interrupted coldly.

Ayako glared at Naru briefly before continuing her report. "Anyhow, basically what it came down to is that he bought his mother a dog several months ago to keep her company, but the dog disappeared after several weeks. While a bit unusual, he figured maybe the dog ran away or got hit by a car, so he bought her a new one. A number of weeks later, it too disappeared. Thinking that maybe his mother didn't like dogs, and that she'd been doing something to chase them away while he wasn't there, he decided to get her a cat instead. Same story. Having had three pets disappear in the course of some months, he then bought her a new cat but leashed it so that it couldn't get out of the yard. Several days later, he found the cat to be missing; it had been released from it's leash. Since it's highly unlikely his mother would've been able to undo the leash's clasp, he realised that the missing pets weren't due to his mother's actions, but were likely the acts of someone else in the area. However, since he's usually at work during the day, he doesn't know what's going on at his house while his mother's alone."

Ayako frowned. "Then things get a little weird. About a month or so after the pets disappeared, the guy needed to go away for several days on business, so he arranged for a care worker to visit during that time and take care of her and the house. He made sure to call in regularly so he knew that everything was fine at home. Anyhow, the day before he was to return home, he called the care worker as he wasn't sure what time he'd be able to get home and wanted to make sure everything that needed to be taken care of would be done before he returned. That part was fine. However, when he actually got home, he found the place to be a bit of a mess. Nothing was missing, but basics chores weren't done. There were dishes left out, laundry left undone, his mother hadn't been fed dinner or had her bath..." Ayako shrugged. The man had delineated every last task that had been left unfinished that day. "Anyhow, he discovered a mess at home, and no care worker in sight. Since the person's personal belongings weren't in the house, he figured the person must've left as soon as evening came around and left his mother alone for several hours before he'd been able to get back late that night."

Naru frowned. He glanced over at Yasuhara who was sitting in a corner of the base with an odd expression on his face. "Yasuhara-san?"

Yasuhara cleared his throat as he flipped open his notebook. "As you requested, I went to speak to everyone that lived up the road from here. Most of them couldn't think of anything particularly significant when I asked about any unusual occurrences in the area other than the crimes that had been reported, but I think it was Yoshi-kun who mentioned that people out here tend to be a bit insular and that no one keeps pets. When I asked him about that, he said that when they first moved to the area, they had a dog, but after several months, it disappeared and they were so heart-broken over it that they never got around to getting a new one." Yasuhara frowned. "Come to think of it, he also said that one of the bunnies that he brought home over the summer holidays from school one year disappeared from its cage, but his mom replaced it so that he wouldn't get in trouble with the rest of the kids at school. No one noticed the change because it'd been a new bunny. He said he'd always wondered what happened to the original bunny and how it got out like that."

Yasuhara flipped to the next page in his notebook. "I then managed to get in contact with the Sengokus," he said sounding mildly amused.

"Ehh?! You managed to get in contact with them?" Mai asked shocked. "How did you manage that?!"

Yasuhara laughed at Mai's reaction. He remembered her description of her last attempt to speak to them, so he'd gone there prepared. "You mustn't underestimate the Shounen Tanteidan, Taniyama-san, especially if you're going to be a member."

Mai shook her head. "I couldn't get anywhere near communicating with them, so I don't know if I'm qualified to be a member."

Yasuhara pulled several papers from his notebook and handed them over to Naru. "I wrote the Sengokus a note explaining who I was, why we were all in the neighbourhood, and the questions I wanted to ask them. Hirota-san mentioned residents told the police to speak to them by phone, so I figured indirect contact might work. Since I suspected they were inside and kept a close eye on what happened outside, I was fairly sure they'd see me if I put something in their mailbox. In the note, I said I'd be back in a couple of hours and that I hoped to be able to talk to them then. However, when I returned, I found a box with a bunch of things and some papers sitting out on the front porch for me."

Mai struck her hand in her palm. "I see! That's the leader of the Shounen Tanteidan for you! You're very smart!"

"Not at all, Taniyama-san," he said with his usual inscrutable smile. "Anyhow, the papers are proving rather interesting. The Sengokus have been living in this area for quite some time, perhaps longer than any of the other people living on this street. I suspect they didn't have a problem revealing that much since it's easily determined by going to the ward office and checking the records there. Anyhow, according to them, this area used to be a pretty typical rural area. Since there was very little out here originally, most people knew one another and some kept small animals like chickens, dogs, and cats along with growing rice and vegetables. As the city developed however, the area changed, but since they were still fairly distant from the train station itself, there wasn't much change in people's lifestyles out here. That all changed some...thirty or so years ago. According to the Sengokus, looking back on things now, the start to the strangeness was fairly distinct. The first thing to happen was that there was more crime in the area. At their home, someone threw a rock through their front window. However, they didn't think too much of the incident as they figured it was one of those very rare things that could happen to anyone."

Yasuhara quickly went through the copies he'd made for Naru of the various incidents that happened in the area, and pulled out one newspaper article. "When the incident of a teenage boy attacking his mother with a hammer occurred, they wondered if maybe there were family troubles and that the boy may even have been responsible for the rock through their window. In any case, they still weren't too concerned that anything was wrong, and thought that the area was just having a bit of bad luck. However, when the vandalism didn't stop, they started to wonder if maybe something was wrong in the area. That's when the first murder took place."

Yasuhara paused and took a sip of tea. "A few weeks after that, their daughter talked to them about wanting to go away for university even though it was still a few years off. The Sengokus were against it since they didn't have that sort of money, but their daughter said she didn't want to stay in the area and that something was wrong. The parents dismissed her arguments saying she was being foolish and selfish wanting to do something so costly when they couldn't afford it, and they refused to discuss the issue any further."

Yasuhara pulled out another page from his notebook. "About a month or so later, their daughter was arrested for the murder of her childhood friend. Unfortunately, for her parents, she then committed suicide. This is a copy of her suicide note."

The hand-writing on the sheet was slightly rounder suggesting a female wrote it. The words on the paper were simple: 'I'm sorry. I should never have done it. Things haven't been the same since we did silly things as kids. I just hope that everything will end with my death even though it won't bring Kaori back. I just hope nothing else happens that is my fault.'

"I should mention that the murder the Sengoku's daughter was arrested for wasn't originally reported as a murder in the papers but was listed as an accidental death, and there was never a follow up report on it in the papers either. Apparently the friend had fallen from the loft of their barn, but some animals had gotten to her body during the night causing a great deal of damage. For some reason, the accident was later considered not to be accidental, and that's when their daughter Megumi was arrested," Yasuhara explained before resuming his rundown on the results of his search.

"When the Sengokus first learned of their daughter's suicide and her note, they thought that that was the end of the affair. Even though they were horrified at the thought that she'd been capable of murdering someone at such a young age, let alone a childhood friend, their daughter was dead, so they expected the problems in the area to end. However, that didn't happen and problems continued. The second major incident that they took note of was the accidental death of a neighbour and the father of their daughter's childhood friend. The older Sengokus were never particularly close to the family, and given what'd happened between their two daughters, they weren't exactly on the best of terms at that point. In any case, they heard that the man's dead body had been found in their barn a few days after having fallen badly from the loft. At this point, the Sengokus wondered about the bad karma that seemed to have fallen on their area what with the murders and death, but when they heard that their neighbours barn also had a number of dead animals in it, that's when they started to wonder if there wasn't a curse instead."

Yasuhara tapped the page in front of him. "This is all just their speculation, but they couldn't help wondering if the latest death might not be tied in with whatever their daughter's suicide note seemed to be referring to. However, they couldn't think of any way that their daughter could be causing anything since she was already dead."

Yasuhara pulled out a small newspaper clipping from the papers the Sengokus had given him. "This is the article about the dead animals. At that time, the police suspect there was a build up of some toxic gas which caused the animals in the barn to die. They thought the man, who'd been up in the loft, was overcome by the gas and ended up falling to his death. However, there's no mention of what that gas might have been or how it could have built up in the building in the first place. Only that it must have dissipated in the days before the bodies were discovered."

Yasuhara frowned slightly. "The rest of the papers essentially follow the major incidents in this area, most of which I've already reported. I haven't had a chance to go through the rest of the box's contents though."

Naru nodded. "Mai, help Yasuhara go through that box and see if there's any other useful information in there."

"Okay."

Naru looked over at Lin where he was monitoring the cameras. "Lin, anything to report?"

Lin glanced at the monitors before turning to face Naru and the others. "The data from the thermographic camera in the barn is giving some unusual data. Also, there have been some temperature fluctuations occurring inside the abandoned house. The changes at the house aren't extreme, but they are significant."

Naru nodded. "Any sounds or anything else in that house?"

Lin cocked his head slightly. "Some rapping sounds have been recorded in the far room where Taniyama-san's handset was found. I haven't found anything else, but I still have several tapes to review."

"Bou-san, John, Hirota-san, you three are in charge of changing batteries and tapes in all the cameras. Hara-san, how long will you be able to stay here?"

"If you need me, I can have my grandmother call and say that I'm sick tomorrow," Masako said as she considered her schedule. "However, it would probably be better for me to return to Tokyo first thing to take care of the essentials and have my grandmother re-schedule the rest."

Naru considered their situation briefly. "Go with that," he decided finally. "If possible, I'd like you to check out the loft before you leave as well as when you get back."

Masako nodded slowly. "Very well."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Apparently I forgot to mention what a _gaki_ is. (Oops, sorry!) And no, in this case it's not referring to a young child. A _gaki _is often called a 'hungry spirit' or preta in Buddhism. They are the spirits of people who did evil while living and ended up falling into the _gaki_ path as punishment. _Gaki_ themselves are often depicted as having very thin stick-like limbs, a needle-thin neck, and greatly distended stomachs. Typically they unable to eat anything and are doomed to starve although some are able to eat certain items (faeces, corpses, food left as offerings at temples, etc.). For some _gaki_, when they try to eat something, the item will burst into flames turning the item into ash. 


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

After the meeting broke up, Mai got up to make tea for everyone and iced coffee for Bou-san. While the others had been setting up the equipment at the abandoned house, Ayako had commandeered the company van and Hirota as a driver and gone shopping when he returned to base on his own. Mai handed out drinks to everyone before settling down next to Yasuhara and began pulling things out of the box. The box itself was the size of a small packing box and it was almost overflowing with newspaper clippings, notes, books, and even some pictures all jumbled together.

"Whoa... is this a diary?" Mai asked as she pulled out a journal. She opened the book and flipped through the pages. They were dated and a quick glance through one page told her it was indeed a diary.

Mai looked at the box again and held her head in despair as she realised the task she and Yasuhara faced.

"I think I want to run away," she said dismayed.

"Ahahah, what are you talking about, Taniyama-san? You're supposed to be a member of the Shounen Tanteidan, right? So this sort of thing should be no problem." Yasuhara's glasses glinted as he sounded a bit too cheerful. "But, just in case there's anything... sensitive, I think you should read through the diaries first."

Mai looked at Yasuhara confused. "Sensitive...?"

"Of course, Taniyama-san. After all, I really don't think it appropriate for me to read about any umm... girl issues. It'd be quite embarrassing, and I'm a bit too delicate to be reading about such matters."

Mai could see that Yasuhara was clearly amused but couldn't understand what sort of "girl issues" could possibly embarrass him.

"You really are dense sometimes, aren't you Mai?" Ayako said exasperated. "He's talking about if the girl wrote anything about having her period or if she wrote about any romantic encounters in there."

Mai's eyes widened as she blushed.

"My, Matsuzaki-san. How crude." Masako said primly as she covered her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono.

Masako turned and looked at Mai. "Which reminds me, Mai, we haven't finished our talk about you propositioning Naru."

"Wha-! I did no such thing!" Mai exclaimed mortified. "Ayako and Bou-san suggested I did the same thing earlier today, too. Just where did you guys hear anything..." Mai's voice trailed off as she suddenly realised who'd been spreading the rumour.

She whirled around and glared at Yasuhara. "Yasuhara-san! What have you been saying about me and this investigation?!"

"Mai! Be quiet!" Naru snapped from where he was reading through the papers Yasuhara had given him during the meeting. "Do your work first. Your foolish gossip can wait until after that!"

Mai shrank back from the annoyance in his tone before turning to glare at Masako. Her look spoke volumes. _'It's _your_ fault I got in trouble.'_

Masako turned away with her nose in the air. "At least I've been useful and did my job," she said haughtily.

Ayako struggled to muffle her laughter as Mai puffed her cheeks like a little child in a snit.

"By the way, Mai, you should know that that stupid monk was throwing a fit the entire time we were coming down over everyone sleeping in one room together." Ayako asked amused.

Mai blushed slightly. "Yeah, but that's what Naru decided, and it's work related, right? Besides, I've been out here for most of the time."

Masako looked at Mai strangely. "What about sleep, Mai? You're not like certain individuals who seem to forget that human bodies require certain things like food and sleep."

"Umm..." Mai looked away awkwardly.

Ayako pat Mai on the head. "Don't forget, lack of sleep is a woman's worst enemy and is very damaging for your skin."

Mai laughed. "Yes, Mom. I'll remember that for when I get old like you."

Ayako rapped her sharply on the head. "Don't talk to your sister like that."

Mai laughed again as she rubbed her head. Masako was covering her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono, but Mai knew that she, too, was smiling. To her side, Yasuhara watched the three of them with a gentle smile.

Mai felt the knot of tension inside her finally loosen. While she didn't have any answers and she hadn't dealt with how she felt about things yet, she was starting to feel a bit better about facing her questions and finding her answers.

_'Ah, come to think of it, nobody's asked if I've had any dreams or about Gene.'_ Mai felt her eyes sting as she realised again just how much these people cared about her and how important they were to her.

Yasuhara reached into the box and started pulling out some papers. "In any case, let's get started, Taniyama-san. I'll take care of the loose papers and stuff, while you can take care of the diaries."

"Roger." Mai said still smiling.

* * *

It was 2 A.M.; Mai was still in the base reading through the girl's diary, while Ayako and Masako had since gone to bed upstairs. With the Irregulars present, and given Masako's and Gene's assurances that the house was empty of spirits, Naru finally gave the okay to use a couple of the bedrooms upstairs to rest in. As a result, the women's team took the bedroom the Katou couple had been staying in while the men's team claimed the Nishimura couple's room. The room the child had been staying in was left empty. John and Hirota had also gone to bed at the same time as Ayako and Masako, while Bou-san hung around the base and went through the case file. Naru and Lin were busy at the monitors checking through the various tapes as they came back from each battery and tape change. 

Unfortunately for Mai, the Sengokus's daughter had been an avid writer and chronicled her life in great detail. While it might be useful for when she read about something significant, it also meant that she had a lot of text to work through in the meantime.

_'At least the earlier years were easier since she was still so young and not used to writing,'_ Mai thought wearily. _'I'm almost afraid to find out how much she wrote in high school though.'_

Mai turned the page and rubbed her eyes as the words on the page blurred. A few moments later, the book slipped from her nerveless fingers as she drifted off into sleep.

Naru looked up from the monitors he was watching at the small sound of a book falling behind him. Turning, he saw Yasuhara picking up one of the journals Mai had been reading.

"It appears she's fallen asleep while reading," Yasuhara said quietly. "What did you want to do, Shochou?" he asked Naru.

Naru sighed. "Cover her with a blanket and let..." Naru's words trailed off as he focussed on Mai.

Lin looked up from where he was checking through the data, when Naru suddenly got to his feet and went over to Mai.

Bou-san glanced at the young man. "Naru-bou?" Bou-san called quietly.

Naru knelt by Mai studying her carefully.

"Shochou?"

Naru sighed and shook his head slightly. "I told her yesterday, that it was safe for her to sleep and that that idiot wasn't such an insensitive clod as to show up in her dreams, but for her to decide to go and see him..."

Bou-san looked at Naru steadily. "Is she asleep, or has she gone out for a walk somewhere, Naru-bou?" he asked quietly.

Naru shrugged. "It looks like she's decided to go out for a bit. She's in a trance."

Bou-san shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe that, after all that time avoiding sleep because she was afraid of seeing your brother, she's suddenly decided to go see him, after all."

Yasuhara chuckled slightly. "But it's very much like her. It was only a matter of time before she finally got over her uncertainty and took action."

* * *

Mai was surprised to find herself suddenly standing in a small barn. The place looked familiar, and it only took her a moment to realise that it was the same place she'd been trapped in the day before. She looked around for a moment curious as to why she was there, when she glanced up at the loft. In her current state, she wouldn't be at any risk of falling through the floor... 

Mai moved purposefully towards the ladder when a hand grabbed her by the arm stopping her. Turning, she saw Gene standing behind her with a slightly troubled and embarrassed look on his face. Mai felt her chest go tight. As much as she wished he would move on, at the same time, she was so happy to be able to see him again. She stared at him silently for a long moment.

"Mai," he said quietly.

She couldn't help smiling in delight at the sound of his voice. His tone held a hint of embarrassment, as though he were caught in a slightly awkward situation. And even though Gene's and Naru's voices were virtually identical, the hint of feeling and warmth in Gene's voice distinguished it from Naru's colder, more sarcastic tone.

Mai turned and smiled at Gene. "Gene, what are you doing here?"

Gene laughed slightly at Mai's question. "I think that's my question," he said amused. "Shouldn't you be asleep rather than wandering around in here?"

Mai blushed a little in embarrassment. "...I wasn't exactly planning on coming out here like this." She finally admitted. "But it almost feels like Naru's keeping me confined to the base, so I was sort of hoping to slip out and take a look around."

Gene chuckled softly. "That's so like you," he said smiling at Mai, "but you shouldn't wander around so much this time."

Gene's expression sobered as he looked up at the loft. "Naru had Hara-san take a look up there earlier today, and she wasn't entirely sure of what she saw. What do you remember from being up in the loft yesterday?"

Mai cocked her head. She remembered feeling cold and shivering the entire time she was up there and just curling up into a little ball. At least until something started coming towards her from out of the darkness... But by then, full dark had fallen outside, and it was pitch black inside.

Mai frowned as she explained what she remembered to Gene.

Gene nodded. "Do you remember how you felt when the sounds first started?"

"...I remember being scared and wanting it to be mice or rats, but..."

Mai's voice trailed away. Gene said nothing and waited for Mai to continue.

Mai sighed. "I was scared of something... whatever was out there. But I was also scared of moving too much because it didn't seem safe."

Gene nodded. "I'm not entirely sure where that thing came from, but it wasn't here when you were first locked in."

Mai looked at Gene worried. "Am I... are we in any danger here?"

Gene gave her a small smile. "Fortunately, whatever it is only eats flesh, so we're both safe right now. But it would be dangerous if you were to get trapped in here after dark on your own again." Gene's expression was very serious as he looked at Mai. "You were lucky yesterday. Lin sent his shiki out looking for you, and they were protecting you when that thing got close. The blood up there was from it after the shiki struck out at it. If it weren't for Lin's shiki, things could have ended up much worse."

Mai shivered slightly at the thought of how close the thing had gotten to her when she suddenly realised she could see inside the barn. Yesterday, when she'd been trapped in the loft, she couldn't see anything.

She looked at Gene. "Gene, if I go up there, will I be able to see anything?" she asked. "I seem to be able to see in here right now even though it should be pitch dark."

Gene sighed. "You might be able to see something," he admitted. "Naru's having Hara-san take a look tomorrow both before she leaves and once she gets back though."

Mai frowned. "Still, if it's okay and safe, I'd like to take a look."

Gene climbed up the ladder first and helped Mai up into the loft as she climbed up after him. He glanced around before his gaze settled onto the furthest corner. Mai stared at the corner as well. It looked strange. Almost as though there was nothing there. Not the walls, not any aspect of the barn, nothing seemed to exist in that corner. It was a literal void.

"What is that?" Mai asked confused.

Gene cocked his head to one side as he looked at the blackness. "I don't know. It's almost as though someone's made a small hole or pocket between this world and some hell."

Mai continued to stare at the blackness when suddenly two blood-red eyes stared at her from the nothingness. Mai gasped in fear and shock.

"...At a guess, I think it's time to go," Gene said as he stared at the eyes.

Mai glanced up at Gene, but before she could say anything, he wrapped his arm around her waist and leapt down from the loft pulling her with him. Mai almost shrieked and closed her eyes as they jumped down and the ground came rushing up to meet them. However, there was no sudden hard impact. When she felt firm ground beneath her feet again, she opened her eyes and was surprised to see that they were standing on the road outside the Nishimura residence.

Mai shivered at the sight she'd just seen when she realised she was still clinging to Gene. "Ah, sorry." she mumbled awkwardly and blushed.

He shook his head and smiled. Mai couldn't help blushing even more at the sight of his smile.

"That," she complained, "is definitely not fair."

Gene looked at Mai smiling in confusion.

"That smile. There's no way anyone could resist it."

Gene laughed at the petulance in Mai's voice. He pushed her towards the door. "You should get back to your body," he said. "Otherwise, Naru'll yell at you again."

Mai grimaced at that comment. While he hasn't necessarily been yelling at her all the time, he certainly wasn't holding back in letting her know exactly what he thought of her actions.

"And tell that idiot scientist not to worry so much about being an insensitive clod when he's not being stupid. He should only worry about it when he's being an idiot."

"Eh?" Mai turned to look at Gene, but he was already gone.

* * *

The tension in the base was almost palpable when Mai opened her eyes. Naru and Bou-san were standing around Lin's chair by the monitors, while Yasuhara had a serious expression on his face as he watched from behind. Mai blinked a few times as she got oriented. _'Ah, that's right, I must've fallen asleep for a bit.'_

"Did something happen, Yasuhara-san?" Mai asked quietly trying to get Yasuhara's attention.

Naru, Bou-san, Lin, and Yasuhara all turned at the sound of Mai's voice.

Naru glanced back at the monitors for a moment before he moved over to where Mai was sitting.

"And just where did you think you were going, Taniyama-san?" he asked icily.

Mai grimaced at the anger in Naru's voice. _'He's definitely not in a good mood.'_

"Someone seems to be keeping me locked up, so I wanted to go for a walk," she said coolly as she looked away from him.

Naru raised an eyebrow at Mai's tone of voice and reply. "And why would you think someone was keeping you on a short leash, Taniyama-san? If your actions are beyond reproach, there should be no need for it."

Mai sighed in resignation. There was no way she could win against Naru when he was in this sort of mood. "I went back to the barn I was locked up in yesterday," she admitted.

Naru shook his head. "I take it you met that idiot, then?"

Mai smiled wryly at the way Naru referred to his twin. "Yeah," she admitted slowly. "He seemed a bit embarrassed about showing up though. Which reminds me, he told me to tell you not to worry about being such an insensitive clod when you're not being stupid. Only when you're being an idiot."

An obvious look of displeasure spread over Naru's features at that comment that Mai couldn't help giggling a little. Naru glared at her, but it only caused her to laugh harder.

"Did Gene call you an insensitive clod? Those words have been bugging me ever since you said that Gene wasn't such an insensitive clod as to show up in my dreams."

Naru ignored her question. "What did you see in there?"

Mai sobered up immediately. "I went up to the loft again. Gene said we were safe because whatever was in there only ate flesh. But he also said it would be dangerous to be trapped in there after dark."

Mai frowned as she tried to find the right words to describe what she saw in the loft to Naru. She described the void and the eyes she saw staring out of it.

"When did you see them?" Naru asked sharply.

"Eh? 'When'?" Mai frowned. "It's not like I looked at my watch or anything, but it happened shortly before I woke up. Gene took me away from there as soon as they showed up."

Naru considered her statement briefly when he glanced at her. "Mai, go get some sleep. Only this time, make sure you don't go wandering off anywhere."

"But..." Mai started to protest but quickly fell silent under Naru's hard look. "Okay..."

Naru stared at the shoji for a long moment after Mai left the base.

"Naru-bou?"

Naru slowly turned away from the entrance to find Bou-san watching him.

"No, it's nothing." Naru moved back to the monitors. "Lin bring up the data that's been recorded from the camera in the loft."

Bou-san and Yasuhara exchanged glances before returning to the task of reading through the various papers in the box.

* * *

**Note:**

The Shounen Tanteidan means "Detective Boys"; this is a nickname for Yasuhara who's often in charge of, and extremely capable at, gathering information for the team. The name is literally for a group, which is why Yasuhara occasionally remarks about how many members there are at the moment.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

It was several hours later by the time Mai came down from the room the women's team had claimed. When she entered the base, she found Naru reading through various papers while Lin was sitting by the computer. Mai cocked her head slightly. _'I wonder if Lin-san's slept at all during this investigation?'_ He'd been present pretty much all the time she was in the base or whenever she woke up after napping in the base. Shaking her head slightly, she went over to the diaries she'd been reading the night before. However, before she could settle down and start reading again, Ayako poked her head into the base.

"I thought I heard you come down," she said. "What do you think you're doing in here? Hurry up and have something to eat before you start reading."

Mai frowned slightly, "But..."

"No buts." Ayako pointed her finger rudely at Mai. "You haven't been eating properly, you certainly haven't been sleeping enough, and you've been out in the cold a lot. You need to take better care of yourself."

Mai sighed slightly before protesting. "I slept lots over the past couple of nights, and Naru's barely let me out of the base since yesterday. Besides, what about Naru and Lin-san? They've been working every time I've been up."

Ayako rapped Mai on the head. "You might not be aware of it, but they've been resting and eating about as much as they normally do... although they do seem to think people should be able to live off of just air and work. Besides, what about the rest of the time you've been here, and how long were you out in the cold the other day? Food, you," she ordered imperiously.

"Coming..." Mai said reluctantly as she left the base again.

* * *

"By the way, did you see Masako leave this morning?" Mai asked curiously as she sat down at the table in the kitchen. "Did Naru say anything about the loft?"

Ayako glanced at Mai as she laid a plate in front of her. She shook her head. "Masako got up and left very early, so I didn't see her leave, but Naru had a strange look on his face by the time he and the others returned. If you want to find out about what she said, you'll either have to get it out of Naru or see if you can hitch a ride with Bou-san tonight when he goes to pick her up at the train station."

Mai sighed. Somehow she didn't get the feeling Naru was going to be too forthcoming with information. "I wonder if he'd let me go," she wondered out loud.

Ayako chuckled. "I heard about what you did last night, so I wouldn't count on it."

Much as Ayako suspected, when Mai asked a few minutes later if she could go with Bou-san to pick Masako up at the station that night, Naru didn't even look at her when he said no.

Annoyed at being refused such a minor request, Mai rounded on her boss. "Why not?! It's not like I'm asking to go to the loft or the abandoned house or anything."

Naru still didn't look up as he continued reading through his file. "I said no, so that means no, Taniyama-san."

Mai shook in anger at her boss's refusal to listen to her and struggled to get her temper under control. "Fine, what did Masako see this morning then? You had her go out there before going back to Tokyo, so you can at least tell me that much."

"And what are you going to do with that information?" Naru asked uninterestedly. "Are you trying to imply that you'll see something in the data that the rest of us haven't?"

Mai frowned at Naru. "How can I? You won't tell me anything!"

Ayako chuckled as Mai sulked over being kept in the dark. "Naru wouldn't tell me anything either, but he's not the only one who was present, Mai. You do realise you could try talking to one of the others instead?"

"Ah! You're right," Mai said and smiled. She turned and looked at Bou-san. "Bou-saaan..."

Naru and Bou-san both looked at Ayako annoyed. Their looks spoke volumes. _'Quit giving her ideas!'_

Naru sighed. "Hara-san said the place looked strange and that she wasn't sure in what way, but that it was different from when she looked around last night. I'm hoping she'll be able to articulate exactly what's different when she goes back again tonight."

Mai grinned in victory, but quickly became serious again. "Was there any response overnight at either location?"

Naru sounded impatient as he responded to her question. "There were some minor temperature fluctuations and even some rapping and knocking sounds at the abandoned house. However, overall, the response has been weak, so whatever's there may not be particularly strong. The loft went through a sudden sharp temperature drop last night thanks to two idiots deciding to go out for a walk. Now, if you don't have any other questions, Taniyama-san, I'd appreciate it if you'd get back to work, and see if there's a clue in the diaries about what might be in either of those locations."

"...Yes sir." Mai had a mixed look on her face. She was glad Naru took the time to answer her questions and get her caught up to speed, but at the same time, she wished he could have worded things a bit differently.

* * *

It was well past 8 P.M. by the time a tired-looking Masako returned to Kyoto and was able to take another look at the loft Mai had been trapped in. She still had a strange, somewhat uncertain expression on her face when she returned to the base with Naru, Bou-san, John, and Hirota.

"Welcome back," Mai said barely looking up as she waved to them from her corner of the room. She was currently sitting surrounded by a small mountain of diaries. Several of the journals had markers in them denoting entries that Mai had considered to be significant. Ayako was also reading through the volumes particularly the ones that Mai had marked, while Yasuhara sat nearby still working through the pile of papers that had been shoved in the box.

Naru glanced at Mai and raised an eyebrow slightly at her greeting and the mess surrounding her. "...Mai, tea."

"...M'kay. Coming..." she said distractedly as she carefully picked her way out from her corner. She'd immediately returned to reading after waving at the others and scarcely glanced at Naru as she wandered past him towards the kitchen with the journal still in her hand. Mai switched the book from her right to left hand as she shook her fingers trying to relieve the stiffness in them. She'd been reading through the journals almost the entire day.

Naru watched as she left and couldn't help wondering if the tea she was about to make would be drinkable since her attention was clearly elsewhere. Masako must've thought the same thing as she called out to Mai, stopping her, before she reached the kitchen.

"Mai, put the book down. I would like something other than extremely bitter, green liquid," she said with a contemptuous sniff. "You're not like a certain individual whose nose is always in a book so as to be able to make tea at the same time as you read."

Mai turned at the sound of Masako's voice, but her attention was still mostly in her book. "You wanted gyokuro, right Masako? You're lucky we're in Kyoto since Uji specialises in gyokuro tea."

Masako stared at her friend for a moment before taking a deep breath. "MAI!"

Mai jumped in surprise dropping the journal. She glared at Masako. "What?! Jeez, you don't have to yell..." Mai's voice trailed off as she looked around her. "Eh? What am I doing out here? Was I about to go do something...?"

The others all heaved a sigh and shook their heads. Yasuhara laughed as he got to his feet. "I'll help you make tea, Taniyama-san," he said as he exited the base, picked up the journal Mai had just dropped, and quickly led her off to the kitchen.

* * *

Several minutes later, Yasuhara and Mai returned with drinks for everyone and quickly set about handing the drinks out. Masako took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes in pleasure as the flavour spread over her palate. She gave a small, tired sigh before opening her eyes and turning to look at Naru.

"The change I noticed this morning seems to have... become more pronounced," she began slowly. "I'm not quite sure how to describe it, because that space is already very unusual."

Masako stared off in the general direction of the loft as she murmured, "It's getting weaker."

Naru frowned. "Weaker? How? Can you be a bit more specific?"

Masako returned her gaze to Naru. "The void is getting weaker. It's as though it's slowly closing up again..." Masako cocked her head to one side. That didn't seem quite right to her. "Maybe, something's closing it from the other side...? No, that doesn't sound right either." She shook her head confused.

Naru considered Masako's statement for a moment. "If we leave it alone, do you expect it'll go away naturally, or will it shrink to a certain level and possibly wait before it opens up again?"

Masako shook her head. "I don't know."

Naru looked at Yasuhara and Mai. They exchanged a brief glance after which Yasuhara decided to report first.

"It seems that the Sengokus have kept a complete record of various happenings in this area. At first I thought that the papers were kept in no particular order here, but after reading through a number of the clippings, I think I've figured out at least part of their filing or rather "piling" system." Yasuhara tapped one pile of newspaper clippings. "These ones seem to be what they considered related to whatever involved their daughter. Most recently added to this pile was the article last Monday when two teens snuck out of their homes to take a break from their exam studies. I believe you noticed this one when Hirota-san came to the office, Taniyama-san. It's the one where the mother of the teen who was attacked thought that her son's friend had been possessed by a fox spirit."

Mai nodded and frowned. Possession. She remembered the voice that was constantly whispering in her mind when she hit Naru. _'Possession... by a fox spirit?'_ She remembered that such possessions typically happened in females who were under psychological duress. _'Maybe a teenage boy studying for his entrance exams would be psychologically stressed enough to exhibit signs of fox spirit possession, but such "possessed people" don't normally attack others... do they?'_

She remembered fighting against the spirit's insidious whispers to a degree. It had wanted to her to do much more than hit Naru, but what it wanted went well beyond anything Mai could ever consider doing. She'd fought it down from using a weapon against Naru, to slapping him. _'I wonder, if I were stronger and more sure of myself, if I hadn't been so uncertain about being on an investigation and possibly seeing Gene again, could I have fought the spirit off entirely...?'_ She didn't know. The whispering had been incessant and so invidious. It had eaten away at her resistance until it found a weakness it could use.

"...i."

"...ai."

Mai heard a distant sigh when suddenly a book rapped her sharply on her head. She rubbed her head and looked up in surprise.

Naru stared at her annoyed. "I find your ability to sleep with your eyes open quite astounding, Taniyama-san. However, we're trying to have a meeting here. So, if you'd be so kind as to make your report...?"

Mai frowned, but unfortunately, her train of thought had since escaped, and she couldn't remember what was so important about the spirit in the abandoned house that had possessed her.

Mai glanced at the journals that she'd read through so far. "Umm... well, the Sengokus' daughter Megumi was a really prolific writer, so I haven't managed to finish reading all her journals yet," she began as she pulled one of the earliest journals from the pile. "But one of the first interesting entries I noticed happened when she was a young child, perhaps seven years old."

Mai opened the journal to the marked page. "She talks about how her grandmother and her relatives had all gathered and they became very upset with her when she mentioned that her grandfather was playing with her baby cousin making him laugh. Megumi was quite traumatised when they scolded her for lying and her father apparently spanked her for it."

The base members glanced at one another with an odd expression on their faces. They couldn't see the relevance of the entry to the case they were investigating.

"A few days after that, she and her grandmother were taking a walk on the mountain in Yawata City, but when her grandmother wanted to go up to the shrine, she refused because her grandfather was saying that it would rain soon and that they should go home. Her grandmother immediately took her to the shrine and had the priest pray over her for half an hour. She wrote that she found the whole thing quite boring but her grandfather was laughing about it and entertained her during the whole thing, so she put up with it." Mai flipped to the next marked page. "A couple years later, she comments how she was scared of one of the boys in her class because he was always staring at her. She didn't know what his name was, and the teacher apparently never looked at or spoke to the boy. She also mentions that there were rumours in the school of a boy having drowned accidentally in the pool several years earlier, so she wondered if the scary boy was the one who drowned."

The looks on the base members' faces became serious as they realised why Mai had chosen the entries she had and the possible implications. Apparently, similar incidents of seeing or sensing dead spirits occurred on rare occasion, including those where she got in trouble, but overall, Megumi seemed to be a fairly happy and normal child.

"Mai, how likely do you think those stories of her seeing the dead are?" Bou-san asked slowly as he stared up at the ceiling when Mai finished her report.

Mai shrugged. "I've only managed to finish up to the end of seventh grade. From what Yasuhara said, she did at least start high school, so that means I have around three more years to get through. But, if Megumi and Mrs. Ikeda did know one another, it could mean that there was more to the seances and games like Kokkuri-san that Mrs. Ikeda referred to than she thought."

"Kokkuri-san...?" Bou-san asked his voice rising in disbelief. "Who's been doing Kokkuri-san? Ever since we went to Yasuhara-shounen's high school, I hate hearing about people doing that."

Mai glanced at Bou-san. "Well, yeah, but you know how it is when you're a kid. You have fun with that sort of thing."

"I don't recall hearing anything about Kokkuri-san in particular either, Taniyama-san?" Naru's chill voice echoed in the base.

Mai cocked her head as she looked at Naru. "Eh? I told you about it back when I first reported about talking to Mrs. Ikeda. And I'm pretty sure I mentioned it again when I told you about talking to her son." Mai protested.

Naru glared at her. "Unlike you, I have a very good memory and I remember what people report. I can assure you that you did not report anything about anyone doing Kokkuri-san," he stated flatly.

"Jeez, I really don't like it when Kokkuri-san's involved, you know?" Bou-san said plaintively. "It can call up some real nasties and it might explain why Masako-chan can't see whatever's in that house clearly since she can't see wandering spirits very well. Hmm, so what are we dealing with? The kids did Kokkuri-san and one of them was... oh wait. The Kokkuri-san was about three decades ago, wasn't it?"

Mai nodded. "As near as I can tell from what Mrs. Ikeda told me, yeah."

Bou-san frowned. "I've heard of mass hysteria and people ending up acting and believing that they were possessed by fox spirits and such because they did Kokkuri-san, but I don't think I've ever heard of a case lasting 30 years."

Bou-san sent a side-long glance at Mai and gave her a sly grin. "And do you remember the key issue about people doing Kokkuri-san and _why_ it's such a problem, young lady?" he asked.

"Eh?" Mai looked surprised at the sudden question then frowned as she thought back to his explanation so long ago at Yasuhara's high school. "Umm... aah!"

"Right." Bou-san nodded. "Even though anyone might be able to call up a spirit by doing Kokkuri-san, sending that spirit back requires training. So, if Megumi-chan and her friends did manage to call up any spirits while they were doing Kokkuri-san, the question then is what did they call up and did they get rid of those spirits afterwards?"

Mai stuck her tongue out at Bou-san slightly. "And even if they didn't, if you got rid of whatever they might've called up, then this case is over, right?"

Bou-san grimaced slightly. Mai's comment made things seem so easy. "...Well, yeah..." he agreed slowly.

Mai made it all sound so easy. Bou-san sighed but didn't say anything about how she was oversimplifying the issue. If anything was after his 'daughter', he'd do what he could to keep her safe. "Mai, get back to work. We need to know about the rest of that girl's junior high and high school life."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

A few hours later, most of the Irregulars were reading through the tagged entries in Megumi's diaries. As Mai finished one journal, each Irregular would read through the key entries and pass the volume to the next person and it would continue down the line.

Yasuhara glanced at the Irregulars and couldn't help smiling wryly at the sight they made. "Taniyama-san, I think I feel a little jealous of your following there," he said as he pointed at the Irregulars.

Mai looked up from the last journal and looked at Yasuhara curiously.

Yasuhara chuckled. "They're all reading what you have marked, but no one seems interested in all these papers and newspaper articles I'm going through," he remarked. "In any case, I've finished with my work, so I'll go make some tea. Would anyone else like anything?"

The rest of the members in the base started to submit their drink requests when Ayako got to her feet as well. "Masako, you can help me make us all a snack. Mai'll probably finish reading that last journal soon, so we can have something to eat while she makes that report."

"My, and here I was expecting you to be more of a 'don't eat snacks late at night, or you'll gain weight' believer," Masako said primly.

Ayako glared at Masako. "...I won't bother making any for you."

"I take it you don't want my help then?" Masako asked sweetly.

"Yes, yes," Yasuhara said cutting between the two. "Let's take it to the kitchen where we won't disturb Taniyama-san as she reads through the last of Megumi's journals."

* * *

When Yasuhara, Ayako, and Masako returned, they saw Mai finishing off the last pages of the girl's diary. Mai had a strange expression on her face as she finished marking a few last entries before rubbing her tired eyes. She shook her right hand a bit before flexing her fingers several times trying to work the ache out of her hand.

Mai threw herself backwards and lay on the tatami floor. While there was a hint of coolness, the heater and all the equipment kept the room comfortably warm. She lay there and stared at the ceiling as she listened to the sounds Ayako and Masako made as they were passing out snacks while Yasuhara served drinks to everyone.

"Oy, Mai-chan. No laying down on the job." Bou-san's voice held a hint of exasperation as he stared at her lying on the floor. "Besides, knowing you, you'll fall asleep if you stay like that for very long."

Mai turned her head and looked at Bou-san. She stuck her tongue out at him. "I will not," she denied. However, she quickly sat up again as Yasuhara offered her a cup of tea.

As the base members settled down with their snacks and drinks, they all glanced at Mai. She smiled wryly as she grabbed a quick sip of tea before reporting on her latest discoveries.

"Well, I managed to read through the last of Megumi's journals, and if we have the chance, it might be worth talking to Mrs. Ikeda again," Mai began. "Umm, I know I reported to Naru about Mrs. Ikeda, but just a quick recap—she and her family have been living here for around five years, but Mrs. Ikeda herself used to live in the area as a child. When I was talking to the residents about rumours in the area and such, she mentioned having pretended that one of the places on this street was haunted and that she and her friends would hold séances, tell ghost stories, and even do Kokkuri-san there. However, the one thing she was fairly sure of when I talked to her was that it was all pretend and for fun, and that none of what they were doing ever resulted in anything."

Mai paused to take another sip of tea as she reached out for one of the later journals. "Assuming that Megumi and Mrs. Ikeda were childhood friends, most of Megumi's journals agree with Mrs. Ikeda's recollection of events. However, there are some exceptions. According to Megumi, the abandoned house was never haunted as far as she's aware. So when her friends came up with the idea of telling ghost stories and holding séances there, she didn't think too much of it, especially when she found that her friends didn't even know the name of the person who used to live there. She commented about how they had a lot of fun fooling around and that nothing seemed to arise from it all, so that it was most likely harmless."

Mai reached out and pulled out another journal and opened it to one page. The writing on the page was messy and hurried as though the writer was struggling to get everything down on paper as quickly as possible. "However, one day, one of her friends suggested that they do Kokkuri-san for a change. Apparently, Megumi wasn't fond of Kokkuri-san in general, but since she couldn't think of any particular reason not to, she agreed. Things apparently didn't go well from the very beginning." Mai turned the page in the journal. On it was a small sketch of Kokkuri-san. "This is the format they used when doing Kokkuri-san that day. As soon as they began, Megumi started feeling cold and was a bit scared, but her friends didn't notice anything, so they kept going. By the time they finished, Megumi was apparently really scared but her friends just laughed at her saying that nothing serious happened and that, while it did get some things right, it also got some stuff wrong. None of her friends seemed to notice any change in the abandoned house. However, Megumi writes that there was a strange spirit in the abandoned house the next day and that it tended to hide away when they went there in larger groups. But when it was only two people, whatever was now living there would start watching them and would even started coming out of hiding on occasion."

Mai pushed the journals she'd pulled out to the centre of the table before reaching for another journal. "That wasn't the only time she and her friends did Kokkuri-san. One of her friends, Kaori, apparently teased her a lot about how scared she was over doing Kokkuri-san at the abandoned house, and when Megumi denied being scared, Kaori dared her to do Kokkuri-san with her – just the two of them – at the abandoned house. Megumi refused though because she knew a spirit was living there already, and it seemed to come out when people went in small groups. So if it were to be just the two of them, she didn't want to go near that house any more. However, Kaori wouldn't let things go, and she suggested they use the barn at her place. It was a few months later but Megumi eventually agreed, and the two went up to the loft there. Much like the previous time she did Kokkuri-san, Megumi started feeling really awful and cold as they did it. Except this time, it was much worse."

Mai opened the journal to the relevant entry. In the margin was a sketch of a strange creature with terrible-looking eyes. "Megumi wrote about seeing this creature, almost as though it was forming in the air next to them and panicked. She snatched the Kokkuri-san paper and crumpled it up throwing it into the far corner before she ran and climbed down as fast as she could from the loft. She yelled at her friend to follow, and Kaori, getting caught up in Megumi's terror, did the same. The two girls apparently fled from the barn back to Kaori's room in her house. However, after an hour or so, Kaori started saying that nothing was there and that it was just their imagination. Kaori refused to believe Megumi when she insisted that something had happened, and apparently, Kaori outright laughed when Megumi said she could sometimes see the dead. Megumi suggested that they send a small animal up to the loft at night, and if anything happened to the animal, then Kaori would believe her when she said that something was in fact there."

Mai shook her head slightly. "The two girls then took Kaori's pet dog, and dragged it up to the loft. As soon as the animal got up there, it started growling and barking like mad. The two girls apparently got scared again and ran out of the barn leaving the barking dog in the loft. After they got a little ways away from the barn, they listened to the dog continue barking for some time when it suddenly gave a terrible yelp and after a few moments of yelping it was completely silent."

Mai took a deep breath. "Megumi then wrote that she couldn't stand the thought of staying at Kaori's any longer and ran home. Apparently, Kaori didn't speak to her for several days, and when she finally did, she told her that she'd found her dog the next morning on the ground dead, and it looked like some animal, Kaori figured it was a raccoon, had eaten part of the dog during the night. However, Megumi's problems didn't end there. Kaori started making fun of her again saying that it was Megumi's fault that she ran out of the barn leaving her dog to fall to its death and that if Megumi hadn't panicked thinking that some spirit was in there, she wouldn't have run out, and her dog would still be alive. Megumi wrote that Kaori told her that there's no such thing as spirits or ghosts and that Megumi just made it all up and was a big chicken. Megumi then tells how Kaori started spreading rumours at school about her and even tried implying that Megumi had killed Kaori's dog."

Mai turned to an entry a few pages later in the journal. "The next entry about Kaori was really short. Basically, it said that Kaori was dead and that it was all her fault. It wasn't until a few days later that she wrote about Kaori talking to her at school a day or two before she died and that she was going to prove that nothing was up in the loft. She told Megumi that she was going to go up there at night alone and that she was even going to take a camera with her. It wasn't until several days later that Megumi wrote about Kaori again to say that her body'd been found on the ground by her parents and that it'd been partially eaten." Mai looked away. "At the time, everyone figured that some wild animal must've somehow made it all the way to where they lived or maybe some feral dog had found their daughter's body during the night first."

Mai stared at the journals silently for a long moment before she finally looked up. "Megumi wrote a couple of things a while later. At some point, the police started suspecting Megumi for Kaori's death, partly because of the rumours Kaori had been spreading, and partly because they had a pretty bad and public falling out just before her death. Since Megumi blamed herself for not stopping Kaori from going to the loft alone at night, she figured that essentially she really was to blame for her friend's death, and she ended up practically confessing to the crime when the police confronted her. However, she either wouldn't or couldn't give any specific details about her friends death. The only thing she didn't know about though, was what happened to Kaori's camera and if she did or didn't take any photos that night. That's... about it."

The Irregulars sat silently in the base as they considered what they'd just heard. Bou-san sighed softly. "So this girl Megumi believed she could see spirits, or at least some spirits. She thinks spirits were summoned when she did Kokkuri-san with her friends because she felt something weird happening and got scared. Her friends on the other hand didn't sense anything, and they didn't see any harm in what they were doing. According to Megumi, the abandoned house has a spirit that doesn't come out when people go in larger groups but starts to manifest when only one or two people are present. You know, I'm a bit more concerned about the spirit in the loft that the one in the abandoned house."

"But didn't Hara-san say that the void up there seemed... to be closing or something?" John asked.

Masako nodded. "That's how it appeared to me, but from what Mai described, I don't know why it would do that."

Naru glanced at Hirota. "Hirota-san, can you get the details of the investigation into Sengoku Megumi's possible involvement in the death of her friend Kaori? Likewise, if there was any mention of this camera in the case file. If anything was actually caught on film..."

Hirota nodded. "I'll have Nakai try to hunt down the details A.S.A.P. and call with the results as soon as she has them."

Naru looked at Yasuhara next. "Do you have anything further to report, Yasuhara-san?"

Yasuhara flipped through a few papers as he considered everything he'd read through. "Just that I've figured out that the Sengokus divided the different incidents into two groups by location, the abandoned house and the barn, and any incidents that didn't fit either pattern they put in their "random incident" pile. Apparently the boy's attack on his mother they listed as being due to the abandoned house, while Kaori's death was due to the barn. Most of the barn incidents seem to involve dead animals and very rarely was there a missing persons case which resulted in death. The Sengokus even included a few 'lost pet' notices in here." Yasuhara frowned. "There's one thing that bothers me about all these loft incidents though. If that barn is normally kept locked, who's been feeding area pets to it, and why did they even think to do so in the first place? It's one thing for Kaori or Megumi to think of it as that was supposed to be a test to see if something really was there, but for someone else entirely, let alone new people to the area..."

Naru nodded. "That point is still unanswered. There's also this issue of Hara-san seeing that void, presumably created when the two girls did Kokkuri-san up there in the first place, as closing itself down somehow. Why is it doing that and how? What triggered that change?"

Naru glanced at Lin. "Lin?"

Lin considered the reports he'd heard. "It could be that whatever energy maintaining that place is no longer present, so it's reverting to normal. However, why that energy would disappear remains a question. The spirit or creature associated with that void is also still a concern."

A faint frown crossed Naru's countenance. "Short of using someone, say Mai, as bait in order to lure it out, we might not be able to get any clear data on it," he said. Naru sounded decidedly annoyed at the thought of not being able to try getting any data on the unknown spirit.

Mai got a strained look on her face when she heard Naru's comment about using her as bait. _'Damn that mad scientist...'_

Naru shook his head slightly and looked at Masako. "Hara-san, you said you couldn't see the spirit in the abandoned house very well. Could you tell where it was hiding?"

Masako cocked her head slightly to one side as she considered what she'd sensed at that house, before eventually shaking her head. "I'm sorry, its presence was too weak to be that specific about its whereabouts."

Naru nodded. "In that case, Hara-san, Bou-san, the two of you are to go to the abandoned house and take care of exorcising the spirit there. Before that, Matsuzaki-san, you're to create some wards; make sure that spirit can't escape should it try to run."

Ayako nodded. "Okay," she agreed.

Bou-san nodded. "Roger. But before that, there's something that's been bothering me about the spirit this time," he said as he glanced at Mai. "Sorry, Mai, but the shounen told us about you hitting Naru-bou. Why didn't you do something more serious?"

"Ehh?! I couldn't hurt him!" Mai protested.

"Okay, then how about that slap?" Bou-san asked.

Mai stared into her almost empty tea cup. "That's the one thing I couldn't fight off doing. I could fight off the urge to try and kill him or seriously hurt him, but slapping him..." Mai shook her head. "I have no idea why I couldn't resist that one."

Bou-san sighed as he stared at the girl. "You have no idea... Y'know, most people would be able to figure out why they didn't," he said as he ran his hand roughly through his hair.

"Eh?" Mai looked at Bou-san confused.

"In other words..." Bou-san said drawing out each word individually, "you didn't want to do it, so you didn't. But when it came to slapping him, somewhere, a part of you did want to to do that, so you couldn't fight that one. That's all there is to it."

"But, normally I wouldn't do something like that just because I wanted to," Mai said as she cocked her head to one side.

"Yeah. So the fact that you _did_... Oww! What'd you do that for, Ayako?!" Bou-san rubbed his head where Ayako had just hit him with her fist.

"That's enough of that, you stupid monk." Ayako glanced at Mai. "Mai, I'll have some more Darjeeling tea. It seems I have some wards to make."

"Eh?? But..." Mai protested. She wanted to know what Bou-san had been about to say.

"Lets go, Mai. I'll help you make tea," Masako said as she got to her feet. She pulled her friend with her out of the base.

"Masako?!" Mai asked surprised, but Masako said nothing as she dragged Mai with her to the kitchen.

The rest of the members stared at the closed shouji screen for a long moment after the two girls left.

Bou-san sighed in resignation and glanced at Yasuhara. "And? What's been bothering Mai so much that a spirit actually managed to get close to her like that? She obviously managed to fight off the spirit to a certain extent, so it's not that powerful, but it did manage to get to her, which means something's bothering her - a lot." he said quietly.

Yasuhara shook his head. "Before we came out here, Taniyama-san had said that she didn't want to go on an investigation, and if she did go, she felt like she wouldn't want to sleep. She was afraid of both seeing and not seeing the boss's brother in her dreams."

Ayako sighed at Yasuhara's comment. "That girl," she said shaking her head.

Bou-san looked at Ayako. "Do you know anything about this, Ayako?"

"Why would I know anything?"

"You're both girls." Bou-san replied promptly.

"Huh?! What's that supposed to... oh never mind," Ayako said. "I haven't heard anything about it. But I'll have you know, I don't pry when it comes to Gene. I don't talk about him unless Mai brings him up."

Bou-san sighed. "Got it. In which case... Masako'd be the best bet?"

Ayako shook her head slightly. "It's hard to say without actually asking her, but I suspect it might not be possible. Not even for her."

Bou-san stared at Ayako in mild disbelief. "Yeah but... is there anyone else among us who _can _talk to her about this?!" he asked incredulously.

A heavy silence fell in the base at Bou-san's question.

It was Lin who finally broke that silence and said a single name. "...Naru."

Naru gave Lin a sharp, slightly annoyed look.

Bou-san looked surprised at Lin's suggestion. "Eh? Naru-bou??"

"Of all of us, Naru's closest to Gene and knew him best," Lin said.

Naru grimaced slightly and looked away. "I suspect she's already solved her problem."

Bou-san couldn't hide his surprise at Naru's comment. "And what makes you say that?" he asked.

Naru shrugged slightly. "She's since met with that idiot, is pretty much being her usual self, and she's no longer pretending to be fine. So, most likely she's worked through whatever has been bothering her."


End file.
